Two men are in custody in London following a brutal attack on a British soldier near the Royal Artillery Barracks in Woolwich. Witnesses told authorities two men hit the soldier with a car before hacking him to death with meat cleavers and knives.
In footage caught by one witness, a black male suspect holding a bloody meat cleaver and butcher knife says, "We swear by Almighty Allah we will never stop fighting you. The only reasons we have done this is because Muslims are dying every day. This British soldier is an eye for an eye a tooth for tooth. We apologize that women had to see this today but in our lands our women have to see the same. You people will never be safe. Remove your government. They don't care about you. You think (Prime Minister) David Cameron is going to get caught in the street when we start busting our guns? ... Get rid of them. Tell them to bring our troops back so we can all live in peace."
Soon after the video was shot, police arrived at the scene and opened fire on the suspects. Both men were wounded and are currently hospitalized. According to London Ambulance Service, one of the suspects is in serious condition.
Police have not identified the suspects or the victim. The Ministry of Defense is investigating.
Prime Minister David Cameron said the attack appears to be an act of terrorism. "We have suffered these attacks before, we have always beaten them back," he said. "We will not be cowed, we will never buckle."
London Mayor Boris Johnson offered his condolences to the victim’s family. "This afternoon's attack in Woolwich is a sickening deluded and unforgivable act of violence. My thoughts are with the victim and his family,” he tweeted.
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