Five people, including a London police officer who was stabbed and the alleged assailant, were killed in a terror attack that saw more 40 people injured outside the Parliament building on Wednesday in an act described as "sick and depraved" by British Prime Minister Theresa May.

Acting Metropolian Police Deputy Commissioner and Head of Counter Terrorism Mark Rowley said there was only one attacker who authorities believe was "inspired by international terrorism."

Flag at half-mast over Scotland Yard tonight to mark the death of our officer & the other victims of this afternoon’s attack in #Westminster pic.twitter.com/NqaGSqJtmt — Metropolitan Police (@metpoliceuk) March 22, 2017

Rowley said three civilians were among those killed. He identified the officer killed in the attack as 48-year-old Keith Palmer.

"One of those who died was a police officer from our Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Command who had 15 years service," he said.

UK PARLIAMENT TERROR ATTACK: MURDERED OFFICER NAMED AS PC KEITH PALMER

Rowley said it was "too early" to publiclly release the name of the suspect in the attack, but that officials "think we know who the attacker is and are working to establish who his associates are."

Armed and unarmed patrols have been stepped up as a precaution across the country, according to Rowley.

A full counter-terrorism investigation is underway.

WARNING: GRAPHIC IMAGES – PHOTOS FROM LONDON TERROR ATTACK

Police said a vehicle mowed down pedestrians on London's Westminster Bridge, leaving more than a dozen with injuries described as catastrophic.

Rowley said the car then crashed near to Parliament, and one man - armed with a knife - continued the attack and tried to enter Parliament.

The knife-wielding attacker stabbed a police officer and was shot on the grounds outside Britain's Parliament, sending the compound into lockdown for hours.

The threat level for international terrorism in the U.K. was already listed at severe, and will remain so, according to May. The attack came on the one-year anniversary of the terror attacks in Brussels in which 32 people were killed and more than 300 injured.

BRUSSELS MARKS 1 YEAR AFTER TERROR ATTACKS, BUT STRUGGLES TO RECOVER

Recent Vehicular Terror Attacks:

•Jerusalem, Israel: 1/8/17

•Berlin, Germany: 12/19/16

•Ohio State: 11/28/16

•Nice, France: 7/14/16 https://t.co/CAaDgAgko7 — Fox News Research (@FoxNewsResearch) March 22, 2017

ISIS claimed responsibility for the coordinated suicide bombings last year -- two at the Brussels Airport in Zaventem and one at Maalbeek metro station in central Brussels. The bombings were the deadliest terror attack in Belgium's history.

UK PARLIAMENT ATTACK: ISIS SYMPATHIZERS CELEBRATING ON SOCIAL MEDIA

ISIS has long promoted the use of vehicles and knives in attacks by so-called "lone wolf" terrorists, particularly in Western countries. Senior U.S. officials expected an uptick of terror attacks in Europe as they ramp up the fight to take ISIS capital Raqqa, Fox News is told.

The terrorist group has not claimed responsibility for Wednesday's attack, but a European government official told Reuters that investigators are considering the possibility the attack was inspired by ISIS propaganda.

London police were called to the Parliament building at around 2:40 p.m. local time (10:40 a.m. EST) after reports of a vehicle crashing into a crowd at Westminster Bridge near Britain's parliament.

This is the moment Parliament was suspended as "sounds similar to gunfire" were heard outside pic.twitter.com/to6PPxkNqL — Sky News (@SkyNews) March 22, 2017

The French prime minister said French high school students were among the injured on Wednesday.

Colleen Anderson of St Thomas' Hospital said a woman died after a vehicle apparently hit pedestrians on Westminster Bridge, near Parliament, according to the Press Association.

Anderson said: "There were people across the bridge. There were some with minor injuries, some catastrophic. Some had injuries they could walk away from or who have life-changing injuries."

A woman was also pulled alive from River Thames. The Port of London Authority said the female member of the public was recovered from the river, injured but alive.

NYPD, OTHERS INCREASE SECURITY FOLLOWING 'TERRORIST INCIDENT' OUTSIDE UK PARLIAMENT

Rick Longley told the Press Association that he heard a bang and saw a car plow into pedestrians and come to a crashing stop. Images from the scene showed pedestrians sprawled on the ground, with blood streaming from a woman surrounded by a scattering of postcards.

"They were just laying there and then the whole crowd just surged around the corner by the gates just opposite Big Ben," he said. "A guy came past my right shoulder with a big knife and just started plunging it into the policeman. I have never seen anything like that. I just can't believe what I just saw."

The former Polish foreign minister Radoslaw Sikorski posted a video on Twitter that seems to show people lying injured in the road on Westminster Bridge.

Sikorski, a senior fellow at the Harvard Centre for European Studies, says he saw at least five people lying on the ground after being "mown down" by a car.

Sikorski told the BBC he "heard what I thought what I thought was just a collision and then I looked through the window of the taxi and someone down, obviously in great distress.

"Then I saw a second person down, and I started filming, then I saw three more people down, one of them bleeding profusely."

PRIME MINISTER THERESA MAY RUSHED TO SAFETY AFTER ATTACK OUTSIDE UK PARLIAMENT

Prime Minister Theresa May was rushed to safety after the attack.

"The thoughts of the PM and the government are with those killed and injured in this appalling incident, and with their families," May's office said in a statement.

In a prime-time address to the nation outside 10 Downing Street, May praised the "exceptional bravery" of police, and thanked them and other emergency services "on behalf of the whole country."

May said it was "no accident" the attacker chose Parliament, which stands for democracy, freedom and rule of law.

The White House condemned the attacks, adding that President Trump is continuing to monitor developments out of London.

Spokesman Sean Spicer said Wednesday Trump spoke with May and said that the White House applauds "the quick response of British police and first responders."

The White House said Trump "pledged the full cooperation and support of the United States Government in responding to the attack and bringing those responsible to justice."

The U.S. State Department said it is closely monitoring the incident and urged Americans in London to avoid the area.

Spokesman Mark Toner said Wednesday: "We stand ready to assist in any way the U.K. authorities would find helpful."

He added that the U.S. Embassy in London is closely following the news and stands ready to help any affected Americans.

"Our hearts go out to those affected," Toner said.

Home Secretary Amber Rudd said the British government's "top priority" is the security of its people, following the attack.

"The British people will be united in working together to defeat those who would harm our shared values: values of democracy, tolerance and the rule of law," Rudd said in a clip broadcast on Sky News.

"The British people will be united in working together to defeat those who would harm our shared values", says Home Secretary Amber Rudd pic.twitter.com/JnCLbrAdyJ — Sky News (@SkyNews) March 22, 2017

Daily Mail journalist Quentin Letts said he saw a man in black attack a police officer outside Parliament before being shot two or three times as he tried to storm into the House of Commons.

"He had something in his hand, it looked like a stick of some sort, and he was challenged by a couple of policemen in yellow jackets," Letts told the BBC. "And one of the yellow-jacketed policemen fell down and we could see the man in black moving his arm in a way that suggested he was stabbing or striking the yellow-jacketed policeman."

Dennis Burns, who was just entering Parliament for a meeting, told the Press Association he heard a radio message saying an officer had been stabbed. Police and security rushed outside as he was going in.

"When I got inside I was wondering what the hell was going on and I saw dozens of panicked people running down the street," he said. "The first stream was around 30 people and the second stream was 70 people. It looked like they were running for their lives."

UK PARLIAMENT ATTACK IS THE LATEST TERROR SCARE FOR LONDON

British security has thwarted some 13 terror plots over the past four years, but the UK has largely been spared major international terror attacks such as the ones seen in Belgium and France.

Fox News' Jennifer Griffin and The Associated Press contributed to this report.</s>LONDON (AP) — The Islamic State group claimed responsibility Thursday for an attack by a man who plowed an SUV into pedestrians on one of London’s famous bridges and then stabbed a police officer to death at Britain’s Parliament. In a somber but defiant statement, Britain’s prime minister declared that “we are not afraid.”

In a sweeping speech before the House of Commons, British Prime Minister Theresa May said the man who killed three people Wednesday before being shot to death by police was born in Britain and once came under investigation for links to religious extremism.

British officials named the attacker as Khalid Masood, a 52-year-old with criminal convictions who was living in the West Midlands, which includes the central city of Birmingham.

Police raided properties in London and Birmingham, and made eight arrests.

A Utah man visiting London with his wife for their 25th anniversary and a British woman who was a school administrator were killed by the SUV attack on Westminster Bridge and 29 others were hospitalized, seven critically. Others were injured and treated at the scene.

May set an unyielding tone Thursday, saluting the heroism of police as well as the ordinary actions of everyone in the British capital who went about their lives in the aftermath.

“As I speak, millions will be boarding trains and airplanes to travel to London, and to see for themselves the greatest city on Earth,” she told the House of Commons. “It is in these actions – millions of acts of normality – that we find the best response to terrorism. A response that denies our enemies their victory, that refuses to let them win, that shows we will never give in.”

Parliament held a moment of silence Thursday morning to honor the slain officer, Keith Palmer, a 15-year veteran of the Metropolitan Police and a former soldier, as well as the other victims. Then Parliament, which was locked down after the attack, returned to business — a counter to those who had attacked British democracy.

In the 1,000-year-old Westminster Hall, the oldest part of Parliament’s buildings, politicians, journalists and parliamentary staff lined up to sign a book of condolences for the victims. Among them was a uniformed policeman, who wrote: “Keith, my friend, will miss you.”

The rampage was the first deadly incident at Parliament since 1979, when Conservative lawmaker Airey Neave was killed in a car bombing by Irish militants.

Some parliamentarians said they were shaken, and all were somber. But they were also determined.

“There is no such thing as 100 percent security,” said Menzies Campbell, a member of the House of Lords. “We have to learn to live with that.”

May later visited a London hospital to meet victims of Wednesday’s attack and to thank the hospital staff who had helped them.

The London attack echoed even deadlier vehicle rampages in Nice, France, and in Berlin last year that were claimed by the Islamic State group.

IS said Thursday through its Aamaq News Agency that the London attacker was a soldier of the Islamic State who “carried out the operation in response to calls for targeting citizens” of countries fighting IS in Syria and Iraq.

IS militants have been responsible for numerous bloody attacks around the globe, but it has also claimed events later found to have no clear links to the group.

Police believe the London attacker acted alone and there is no reason to believe “imminent further attacks” are planned, May said, adding that he had been investigated before but police believed he was a peripheral figure at the time.

Car rental company Enterprise said the car used in the terror attack was owned by them and was rented in Birmingham.

Labour Party lawmaker Khalid Mahmood, who represents part of Birmingham, condemned the “barbaric attack” and urged his fellow Muslims to report concerns about radicalization to the police.

“We have to condemn this outright,” he said. “There are no ifs or buts. This is a hugely tragic incident. These people do not belong to any faith. They certainly don’t belong to my faith of Islam.”

Mahmood said the attacker and those like him “should be condemned by everybody and this shouldn’t serve as a tool for division within our community.”

Many suspects in British terror attacks or plots have roots in Birmingham, which has been described by the Henry Jackson Society conservative think tank as a center for Islamist extremism. Several local mosques have also been linked to extremist clerics.

British security forces have foiled 13 plots in the past four years. There are currently thousands of extremists in the U.K. who are known to officials but only a fraction of whom are under surveillance, according to a security official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak about ongoing security operations. It takes dozens of officers to watch just one terror suspect.

Witnesses said the attacker went straight after the police officer after ramming into the pedestrians.

“This man got out of the car with two knives in his hands and while he was running he was stabbing people. He arrived in front of the entrance to the parliament and he started to stab a policeman,” said Vincenzo Mangiacarpe, an Italian boxer who was visiting Parliament. “You can imagine if someone was playing a drum on your back with 2 knives – he gave him around 10 stabs in the back, then he left the policeman and he came toward us.”

Metropolitan Police counterterrorism chief Mark Rowley said 29 people required hospitalization and seven of them were in critical condition. He said authorities were still working out the number of “walking wounded” from the attack.

May said people from 11 countries were among the victims, including 12 Britons, four South Koreans, three French, two Romanians, two Greeks and two Irish and one person each from Germany, Poland, China, Italy and the United States.

In fact, there were two U.S. victims. Kurt Cochran, a Utah man visiting London with his wife Melissa for their 25th anniversary, was named as among the dead by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. His wife was hospitalized in the attack.

U.S. President Donald Trump was among the world leaders offering their condolences.

London has been a target for terrorism many times over past decades and the threat level for the British capital was already listed at severe, meaning an attack was “highly likely.” Just this weekend, hundreds of armed police took part in an exercise simulating a terror attack on a tourist boat on the River Thames, which winds through London.

May said the attack in London targeted “free people everywhere” and declared she had a response for those behind it: “You will not defeat us.”</s>LONDON — The suspect in the terror attack near Parliament who killed a police officer and two civilians and injured dozens more was British-born and known to security officers, Prime Minister Theresa May said Thursday.

The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack through its Aamaq news agency and called the assailant a "soldier of the Islamic State." The claim couldn't immediately be verified.

May said authorities know the identity of the attacker, who was shot dead by police. She said the man had been investigated by MI5, the domestic security agency, "some years ago" regarding concerns about violent extremism. "He was a peripheral figure. The case is historic — he was not part of the current intelligence picture," she said, adding that there was "no prior intelligence of his intent or of the plot."

She said the suspect is assumed to have been inspired by Islamist ideology.

RELATED | London Terror Attack: What we know now

May's comments, her first in Parliament since Wednesday's attack, came as British police made multiple arrests Thursday in connection with the incident. Eight people were detained in raids on various addresses in London and Birmingham, central England. Investigators think the attacker acted alone.

The prime minister said that the best response to the attack was "millions of acts of normality."

Mark Rowley, the acting deputy commissioner of the London Metropolitan Police, earlier revised down the number of dead to three — Keith Palmer, 48, the police officer with 15 years of service who has stabbed outside Parliament, and two civilians — a woman in her 40s and a man in his 50s.

The attacker, shot by police, brought the total death toll to four.

The Spanish Foreign Ministry identified the dead woman as Aysha Frade, a British national whose mother is Spanish. She worked as a Spanish teacher at a nearby college, the BBC reported. The man in his 50s has not been named.

"Our investigation is ongoing — developing all the time — and is focused on (the attacker's) motivation, his preparation and associates," Rowley said. He said that there was no specific information about further threats to the public.

British media reported that the car used in the attack — a gray Hyundai i40 — was rented in Birmingham.

Queen Elizabeth II said she and her husband, Prince Philip, would not be able to officially open New Scotland Yard, the London police headquarters, as planned Thursday "for very understandable reasons."

"My thoughts, prayers, and deepest sympathy are with all those who have been affected by yesterday's awful violence," she said in a message to Craig Mackey, the acting commissioner of the Metropolitan Police.

During the assault, pedestrians were mowed down by a car on Westminster Bridge and Palmer was then fatally stabbed after the vehicle crashed into the gates of Parliament and the attacker scaled a fence. Of the 40 people injured in the incident, 29 required hospitalization and seven of them were in critical condition.

May said 12 Britons were taken to hospitals. The other victims include three French teenagers, two Romanians, four South Koreans, one American, one German, one Pole, one Irish, one Chinese, one Italian and two Greeks, she said.

Three police officers were injured as they returned from an event to recognize their bravery, May said, adding that two of them were in serious condition.

Both houses of Parliament resumed normal operations Thursday. A minute's silence to honor the victims was held shortly after 9.30 a.m. local time. The crime scene and the area surrounding remained cordoned and police were asking people to steer clear of the areas close to the Parliament. A candlelit vigil will be held in Trafalgar Square later Thursday, the office of London's mayor announced.

"We are not afraid," May said in her address to Parliament. "Our resolve will never waiver in the face of terrorism. And we meet here, in the oldest of all Parliaments, because we know that democracy — and the values it entails — will always prevail."</s>London attacker Khalid Masood was investigated by MI5 over extremism concerns

UK police say the attacker who killed three people near Parliament in London before being shot dead yesterday, was British-born Khalid Masood, who was once investigated by MI5 intelligence officers over concerns about violent extremism.

The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement issued by its Amaq news agency, but did not name Masood and gave no details.

It was not clear whether the attacker was directly connected to the jihadist group.

Police said Masood, 52, was born in the county of Kent in southeast England and was most recently living in the West Midlands region of central England.

"Masood was not the subject of any current investigations and there was no prior intelligence about his intent to mount a terrorist attack," the Metropolitan Police said in a statement.

"However, he was known to police and has a range of previous convictions for assaults, including GBH [grievous bodily harm], possession of offensive weapons and public order offences."

Prime Minister Theresa May earlier told Parliament the attacker had once been investigated by the MI5 intelligence agency over concerns about violent extremism, but was a peripheral figure.

"A terrorist came to the place where people of all nationalities and cultures gather to celebrate what it means to be free, and he took out his rage indiscriminately against innocent men, women and children," Ms May said.

During five minutes of mayhem in the heart of London, Masood sped across Westminster Bridge in a car, ploughing into pedestrians.

He then ran through the gates of the nearby Parliament building and fatally stabbed an unarmed policeman before being shot dead.

Police arrested eight people at six locations in London and Birmingham in the investigation into the attack, which Ms May said was inspired by a warped Islamist ideology.

The Enterprise rental car company said the vehicle used in the attack had been rented from its Spring Hill branch in Birmingham, which is located in the West Midlands.

"An employee identified the vehicle after seeing the licence plate in an image online," company spokesman John Davies said.

"We ran another check to verify, and immediately contacted the authorities."

US tourist named as one of the dead

About 40 people were injured in the attack, of whom 29 remain in hospital, seven in critical condition.

A German woman who lives in South Australia, and is a permanent resident of Australia, was among those hospitalised following the attack, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull confirmed yesterday.

The dead included the stabbed policeman, Masood and two members of the public.

Police had given the death toll as five, but revised it to four on Thursday.

US tourist Kurt Cochran was named as one of the dead in a Facebook post by family member Shantell Payne.

"With a heavy heart I must pass the sad news of our beautiful brother, father, husband, son and friend Kurt Cochran, he could not overcome the injuries he received in the London terror attacks," Ms Payne wrote.

Her post said Mr Cochran's wife, Melissa Payne Cochran, was in hospital with a broken leg and rib and a cut on her head, but would recover.



The attack took place on the first anniversary of attacks that killed 32 people in Brussels, and resembled Islamic State-inspired attacks in France and Germany where vehicles were driven into crowds.

"My thoughts, prayers and deepest sympathy are with all those who have been affected by yesterday's awful violence," Queen Elizabeth said in a message.

It was the deadliest attack in Britain since 2005, when 52 people were killed by Islamist suicide bombers on London's public transport system.

Those injured in the latest attack included 12 Britons, three French children, two Romanians, four South Koreans, one German, one Pole, one Chinese, one American and two Greeks, Ms May said.</s>The so-called Islamic State group has claimed that the London attacker was a “soldier of the Islamic State,” according to its Aaamaq news agency. The British-born terrorist killed three people close to the British Parliament on Wednesday before being shot dead by police.

Police have arrested eight people connected with the attacker, who was known to the intelligence agency MI5.</s>Police say Wednesday's London attacker was Khalid Masood, a 52-year-old Briton with criminal convictions.A Utah man was one of the people killed in the terror attack and his wife was hurt. The family of Kurt W. Cochran issued a statement Thursday morning:"Our family is heartbroken to learn of the death of our brother- and son-in-law, Kurt W. Cochran, who was a victim of Wednesday's terrorist attack in London. Kurt was a good man and a loving husband to our sister and daughter, Melissa. They were in Europe to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary, and were scheduled to return to the United States on Thursday. Melissa also received serious injuries in the attack, and is being cared for in the hospital. We express our gratitude to the emergency and medical personnel who have cared for them and ask for your prayers on behalf of Melissa and our family. Kurt will be greatly missed, and we ask for privacy as our family mourns and as Melissa recovers from her injuries."Meanwhile, the Islamic State group claimed responsibility Thursday for an attack by a man who plowed an SUV into pedestrians on a crowded London bridge and then stabbed a police officer to death on the grounds of Britain's Parliament.The attacker was born in Britain and known to authorities who had once investigated him for links to religious extremism, British Prime Minister Theresa May said Thursday in a sweeping speech in which she also encouraged Britons to go about their lives.The Islamic State group said through its Aamaq News Agency that the attacker was a soldier of the Islamic State who "carried out the operation in response to calls for targeting citizens of the coalition" of countries fighting IS in Syria and Iraq. In addition to the police officer and the attacker, who was shot by police, two people died on Westminster Bridge and at least 30 others were injured, seven critically.British officials did not release the attacker's identity or confirm a link with the Islamic State group, though May did say it would be wrong to describe the attack as "Islamic" extremism."It is Islamist terrorism," she said. "It is a perversion of a great faith."The IS group has been responsible for numerous bloody attacks around the globe and has specifically called for Western followers to carry out this kind of attack in their own countries, though the group has also claimed attacks later found to have no clear links to it.May set an unyielding tone Thursday in a sweeping statement before the House of Commons. While she honored the police, she also saluted the actions of millions of people who went about their lives as normal, describing it as proof that the act of terror failed."As I speak millions will be boarding trains and airplanes to travel to London, and to see for themselves the greatest city on Earth," she told the House of Commons. "It is in these actions - millions of acts of normality - that we find the best response to terrorism -a response that denies our enemies their victory, that refuses to let them win, that shows we will never give in."Parliament began its moment of silence at 9:33 a.m., honoring the shoulder number of the murdered officer, Keith Palmer, a 15-year veteran of the Metropolitan Police and a former soldier. Then Parliament, which was locked down after the attack, returned to business - a counter to those who had attacked British democracy."Those who carry out such wicked and depraved acts as we saw yesterday can never triumph in our country and we must ensure it is not violence, hatred or division but decency and tolerance that prevails in our country," Trade Secretary Liam Fox said."Hear, hear!" lawmakers from all parties responded in unison.Police believe the attacker acted alone and there is no reason to believe "imminent further attacks" are planned, she said. He had been investigated before but police believed he was a peripheral figure, May said. At least eight people were arrested in raids, some in the city of Birmingham, in the central part of the country.Mayor Sadiq Khan called for Londoners to attend a candlelit vigil at Trafalgar Square on Thursday evening in solidarity with the victims and their families and to show that London remains united.London went on. Parliament Square, Westminster Bridge and several surrounding streets remain cordoned off by police. Scores of unarmed officers in bright yellow jackets were staffing the perimeter tape, guiding confused civil servants trying to get to work.In Parliament's New Palace Yard, a blue police tent was erected over the spot where the stabbing and shooting occurred, and two forensic officers worked at a trestle table nearby.Metropolitan Police counterterrorism chief Mark Rowley revised the death toll from five to four, including the attacker, the police officer and two civilians. He said that 29 people required hospitalization and seven of them were in critical condition. He also said that authorities were still working out the number of "walking wounded." Police had previously given the total number of injured as around 40.One of those killed was Aysha Frade, a British national whose mother is Spanish, the Spanish Foreign Ministry said.A doctor who treated the wounded from the bridge said some had "catastrophic" injuries. Three police officers returning from a ceremony to honor their bravery were among the injured.May said people from 11 countries were among the victims. They included: 12 Britons, 3 French, 2 Romanians, 4 South Koreans, 1 German, 1 Pole, 1 Irish, 1 Chinese, 1 Italian, 1 American and two Greeks required hospital treatment. Police earlier said that seven of the 29 who are hospitalized are in critical condition.The threat level for international terrorism in the U.K. was already listed at severe, meaning an attack was "highly likely."President Donald Trump was among world leaders offering condolences.London has been a target for terrorism many times over past decades. Just this weekend, hundreds of armed police took part in an exercise simulating a "marauding" terrorist attack on the River Thames.May underscored that the attack targeted "free people everywhere," and she said she had a response: "You will not defeat us.""Let this be the message from this House and this nation today: our values will prevail," she said.___Associated Press Writers Paisley Dodds, Greg Katz and Frank Griffiths in London and Bilal Hussein in Beirut contributed to this report.</s>Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Moment area around House of Parliament evacuated

A police officer and a woman have been killed near Parliament in central London in what Scotland Yard are treating as a terrorist incident.

The woman was among several pedestrians struck by a car on Westminster bridge, before it crashed into railings.

An officer was stabbed in the Houses of Parliament by an attacker, who was shot by police.

Police said there were "a number of casualties" and a "full counter-terrorism inquiry" was under way.

Prime Minister Theresa May is to chair a meeting of the government's emergency Cobra committee later.

Met Police Commander BJ Harrington said he was unable to confirm details of casualties.

Speaking outside Scotland Yard, he urged the public to stay away from the area around Westminster to allow emergency services access.

London Ambulance said it had treated at least 10 people on Westminster Bridge.

The Port of London Authority said a woman has been pulled alive from the River Thames near the bridge and was being treated for serious injuries.

Image copyright AP Image caption A man believed to be the suspect received medical treatment

The French Prime Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said three French school pupils were among the injured and offered "solidarity with our British friends, and full support" for the wounded students and their families.

Junior doctor Colleen Anderson from St Thomas' Hospital confirmed the death of the woman and said a number of other people were hurt - some with "catastrophic" injuries.

She said she also treated a police officer in his 30s with a head injury, who had been taken to King's College Hospital.

She said the woman had died at the scene.

Analysis

Image copyright PA

By Dominic Casciani, home affairs correspondent

The incident outside Westminster is exactly the kind of scenario that security chiefs have been planning for.

It looks like the type of attack that jihadis have wanted to carry out in Britain - mainly attacking people with a vehicle and taking on the security forces with knives.

But the fact that the Metropolitan Police's counter-terrorism armed response swung into action so quickly indicates how much work has been done since the killing of Lee Rigby in 2013.

Scotland Yard's counter-terrorism command, MI5 and, where relevant, other major agencies, will now throw absolutely everything at trying to establish the background of the suspects - whether they were working alone or whether there could be more of the same on the way.

At the same time, while they are treating this as a terrorist incident, they will know full well that they will have to test the evidence to ensure that this theory is correct.

MPs said they had heard three or four gunshots and staff inside Parliament were told to stay inside their offices.

Commons Leader David Lidington told MPs the "alleged assailant was shot by armed police".

Shortly after the incident, a Downing Street source confirmed that Mrs May was safe.

The prime minister was seen being ushered into a silver Jaguar car as what sounded like gunfire rang out at Parliament during the incident.

The White House said later that Mrs May had spoken to President Donald Trump about the attack.

'Screams and commotion'

Parliament was put into lockdown shortly after the incident at about 14:40 GMT.

Tom Peck, political editor for the Independent, tweeted: "There was a loud bang. Screams. Commotion. Then the sound of gunshots. Armed police everywhere."

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Steve Voake, eyewitness: "I tried to stop people coming on to the bridge"

Press Association political editor Andrew Woodcock witnessed the scenes unfolding from his office window overlooking New Palace Yard.

"I heard shouts and screams from outside and looked out, and there was a group of maybe 40 or 50 people running round the corner from Bridge Street into Parliament Square.

"They appeared to be running away from something.

"As the group arrived at the Carriage Gates, where policemen are posted at the security entrance, a man suddenly ran out of the crowd and into the yard.

"He seemed to be holding up a long kitchen knife.

"I heard what sounded like shots - I think about three of them - and then the next thing I knew there were two people lying on the ground and others running to help them.

"Armed police were quickly on the scene and I heard them shouting to people to get out of the yard."

'Mowed down'

An eye witness, Radoslaw Sikorski, a senior fellow at Harvard's Centre for European Studies, posted a video to Twitter showing people lying injured in the road on Westminster Bridge.

Image copyright Alison Baskerville Image caption Parliament went into lockdown after the attack

Image copyright AP

Image copyright AP

He wrote: "A car on Westminster Bridge has just mowed down at least 5 people."

Scotland Yard said it was called to a firearms incident on the bridge amid reports of several people injured.

Transport for London said Westminster underground station has been shut at the police's request, and buses diverted.

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Aerial views of Houses of Parliament

Mr Lidington said: "It seems that a police officer has been stabbed, that the alleged assailant was shot by armed police.

"An air ambulance is currently attending the scene to remove the casualties.

"There are also reports of further violent incidents in the vicinity of the Palace of Westminster but I hope colleagues on all sides will appreciate that it'd be wrong of me to go into further details until we have confirmation from the police and from the House security authorities about what is going on."

Update: An earlier version of this story included an incorrect report that it was understood from multiple sources that two people were in the vehicle on the bridge.

Are you in the area? If it is safe to do so, please get in touch with us. Email us at haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk

You can send your pictures and video to yourpics@bbc.co.uk

You can also contact us in the following ways:</s>British police say that 4 people dead in London attack including 1 police officer, attacker; 20 injured.</s>Westminster attack: Police officer among four dead in terror attack

Westminster attack: Police officer among four dead in terror attack

Four people are dead after a knifeman ploughed a car into crowds outside the Houses of Parliament then stabbed a police officer in a major terror attack.

Among the four killed were the policeman, two pedestrians and the attacker, who was shot by armed officers.

Twenty people were hurt, some suffering "catastrophic" injuries, when terror struck at the heart of Westminster this afternoon.

Gunshots and panic caught on camera

Witnesses described hearing people screaming and seeing bodies scatter as the car mounted the pavement and crashed into railings just in front of the Houses of Parliament.

The attacker then ran from the car armed with two knifes and and stabbed two police officers before being shot by armed police.

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Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley confirmed one of the officers had died in the attack along with three other people, one of them the attacker.

Police update on Westminster terror attack

The man, described as Asian and in his 40s, was pictured on a stretcher after medics had attempted to save his life.

Foreign minister Tobias Ellwood had fought in vain to keep the officer alive by giving him mouth-to-mouth on the cobbled courtyard area in front of the Houses of Parliament.

Among those injured by the car on Westminster Bridge were three police officers on their way back from a commendation ceremony and three teenage students on a trip to London from France.

Image: The Westminster attacker being tended by medics

Parliament was immediately shut down and suspended for the day, and the Prime Minister bundled into a car as officers searched the building, evacuating floors one by one.

Among those led to safety from the building were a group of primary school children who had been on a sightseeing trip.

Bomb squad officers were called in to deal with a suspicious package found in a vehicle.

Westminster attack: Eyewitnesses recall the horror

Sightseers on the London Eye were held inside the viewing pods.

Assistant Commissioner Rowley said they believe there was only one attacker but there was a "full-scale" counter terrorist investigation under way.

He moved to reassure the public, saying that extra police officers, both armed and unarmed, would be patrolling the streets in the coming days.

Image: A map showing what happened in the Westminster terror attack

He said: "This is a day we plan for but hoped would never happen. Sadly it is now a reality.

"We will continue to do all we can to protect the people of London."

Witnesses described seeing an "Asian guy in his 40s" carrying a knife and running across the bridge and towards the Houses of Parliament.

Alan Parry, of Sky Sports News, was at Westminster for a meeting when he heard "an almighty crash" just outside the underground station.

He said he could see a vehicle on the other side of the road which had crashed into some railings.

He said: "The guy who I assumed was the driver of this 4x4 got out of the car and suddenly sprinted away from the scene - that was followed by four of what sounded much like gunshots.

"All of a sudden all hell was let loose. Police descended everywhere and the whole area was locked down."

Image: The scene on Westminster Bridge following the terror attack Image: London Ambulance Service said paramedics had treated at least 10 patients on the bridge Image: Injured people assisted by passers-by Image: A number of pedestrians were hit by a grey Hyundai i40 Image: Witnesses say they saw the car travelling at high-speed before it crashed Image: Police are treating the incident as a terrorist attack Image: The scene on Westminster Bridge as seen from Parliament Image: An armed police officer runs across the road Image: Paramedics treat an injured person Image: A member of the public is taken away in an ambulance Image: Extra police officers have been deployed in London following the attack Image: Emergency services on the River Thames Image: A paramedic at the scene of the Westminster attack /

Jayne Wilkinson said: "We were taking photos of Big Ben and we saw all the people running towards us, and then there was an Asian guy in about his 40s carrying a knife about seven or eight inches long.

"And then there were three shots fired, and then we crossed the road and looked over. The man was on the floor with blood."

One of the key witnesses to the attack was the Acting Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, Craig Mackey. He was unable to make a statement because he was giving vital evidence to officers.

The Government has said it will chair a meeting of the Government's emergency Cobra committee later today.

A 10 Downing Street spokesman said: "The thoughts of the PM and the Government are with those killed and injured in this appalling incident, and with their families.

"The PM is being kept updated and will shortly chair Cobra."

Buckingham Palace declined to comment about its security arrangements but it was clear some precautions had been taken as the gates, patrolled by armed police, had been closed.

MSPs have delayed a vote on a possible second independence referendum in light of the attack.</s>LONDON — The suspect in the terror attack near Parliament who killed a police officer and two civilians and injured dozens more was British-born and known to security officers, Prime Minister Theresa May said Thursday.

The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack through its Aamaq news agency and called the assailant a "soldier of the Islamic State." The claim couldn't immediately be verified.

May said authorities know the identity of the attacker, who was shot dead by police. She said the man had been investigated by MI5, the domestic security agency, "some years ago" regarding concerns about violent extremism. "He was a peripheral figure. The case is historic — he was not part of the current intelligence picture," she said, adding that there was "no prior intelligence of his intent or of the plot."

She said the suspect is assumed to have been inspired by Islamist ideology.

May's comments, her first in Parliament since Wednesday's attack, came as British police made multiple arrests Thursday in connection with the incident. Eight people were detained in raids on various addresses in London and Birmingham, central England. Investigators think the attacker acted alone.

The prime minister said that the best response to the attack was "millions of acts of normality."

Mark Rowley, the acting deputy commissioner of the London Metropolitan Police, earlier revised down the number of dead to three — Keith Palmer, 48, the police officer with 15 years of service who has stabbed outside Parliament, and two civilians — a woman in her 40s and a man in his 50s.

The attacker, shot by police, brought the total death toll to four.

The Spanish Foreign Ministry identified the dead woman as Aysha Frade, a British national whose mother is Spanish. She worked as a Spanish teacher at a nearby college, the BBC reported. The man in his 50s has not been named.

"Our investigation is ongoing — developing all the time — and is focused on (the attacker's) motivation, his preparation and associates," Rowley said. He said that there was no specific information about further threats to the public.

British media reported that the car used in the attack — a gray Hyundai i40 — was rented in Birmingham.

Queen Elizabeth II said she and her husband, Prince Philip, would not be able to officially open New Scotland Yard, the London police headquarters, as planned Thursday "for very understandable reasons."

"My thoughts, prayers, and deepest sympathy are with all those who have been affected by yesterday's awful violence," she said in a message to Craig Mackey, the acting commissioner of the Metropolitan Police.

During the assault, pedestrians were mowed down by a car on Westminster Bridge and Palmer was then fatally stabbed after the vehicle crashed into the gates of Parliament and the attacker scaled a fence. Of the 40 people injured in the incident, 29 required hospitalization and seven of them were in critical condition.

May said 12 Britons were taken to hospitals. The other victims include three French teenagers, two Romanians, four South Koreans, one American, one German, one Pole, one Irish, one Chinese, one Italian and two Greeks, she said.

Three police officers were injured as they returned from an event to recognize their bravery, May said, adding that two of them were in serious condition.

Both houses of Parliament resumed normal operations Thursday. A minute's silence to honor the victims was held shortly after 9.30 a.m. local time. The crime scene and the area surrounding remained cordoned and police were asking people to steer clear of the areas close to the Parliament. A candlelit vigil will be held in Trafalgar Square later Thursday, the office of London's mayor announced.

"We are not afraid," May said in her address to Parliament. "Our resolve will never waiver in the face of terrorism. And we meet here, in the oldest of all Parliaments, because we know that democracy — and the values it entails — will always prevail."
An attacker carries out a vehicle-ramming attack outside the Houses of Parliament in London, before stabbing a police officer and subsequently being shot by security forces. Including the attacker, there are at least four people dead.