British counterterrorism investigators searched two homes Monday and detained “a number” of people in the investigation into a van and knife attack in the heart of London that left seven people dead.
Dozens were injured, many of them critically, in the attack that started on the London Bridge, when three attackers swerved the vehicle into pedestrians then, armed with knives, rampaged through Borough Market, slashing and stabbing anyone they could find.
The three men, who wore fake suicide vests, were shot to death by police. The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility.
London’s police chief has said the attackers have been identified, but the names haven’t been released. At least 12 people were arrested Sunday, including five men and seven women ranging in age from 19 to 60. One has since been released without being charged.
Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick said she wouldn’t release further details in what she described as a fast-moving investigation. She wouldn’t say whether authorities were familiar with the men before the attack.
IS has claimed responsibility for three attacks in Britain since March, and Dick described the recent wave of violence as “unprecedented in my working life.”
“We in this country have faced a terrorist threat throughout my life – it changed and morphed and we will change and adapt to what appears to be a new reality for us,” she said.
Prime Minister Theresa May warned that the country faced a new threat from copycat attacks. She said Britain must do “more, much more” to combat what she called the perverted ideology of radical Islam.
She said police know the identity of the three attackers but will not release them yet because of the ongoing investigation. Police and intelligence services are trying to determine what backup support they might have had.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan and Police Commissioner Dick have toured the site of the attack and praised the quick police work that they said prevented further deaths.
Dick said Monday the attack was “ghastly,” but that Londoners are pulling together and refusing to be cowed by extremists.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.