One dead, 10 injured in London mosque incident: police

Emergency services are seen near Finsbury Park as British police say there are casualties after reports of a vehicle colliding with pedestrians in North London, Britain June 19, 2017. [Photo/Agencies]

LONDON - One person was killed and 10 others injured on Monday when a van collided with pedestrians near a North London mosque in an incident which is being investigated by counter terrorism officers, police said.

"One man was pronounced dead at the scene," the Metropolitan police said in a statement.

Police said eight people had been taken to three separate hospitals and two people were treated at the scene for minor injuries.

A 48-year old van driver, who was detained by members of public at the scene and then arrested by police, has been taken to hospital and will be subject to a mental health assessment.

The Muslim Council of Britain said the vehicle hit people as they were leaving the Finsbury Park Mosque, one of Britain's largest. The attack comes during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, when people attend prayers at night.

Police said they were called just after 12:20 am (2320 GMTSunday) to reports of a collision on Seven Sisters Road, which runs through the Finsbury Park area of the city. They said there were a number of casualties and one person had been arrested.

"From the window, I started hearing a lot of yelling and screeching, a lot of chaos outside. Everybody was shouting: 'Avan's hit people, a van's hit people'," one woman who lives opposite the scene told the BBC.

"There was this white van stopped outside Finsbury Parkmosque that seemed to have hit people who were coming out after prayers had finished. I didn't see the attacker himself,although he seems to have been arrested, but I did see the van."

A man leapt out of the van and stabbed at least one person,the Evening Standard newspaper said, citing witnesses. Reuters could not immediately confirm that report.

The incident follows a series of attacks in Britain inrecent months blamed on Islamist militants, the latest just over two weeks ago in which three men drove into pedestrians on London Bridge and stabbed people at nearby restaurants and bars, killing eight.

One witness told CNN it was clear that the attacker at Finsbury Park had deliberately targeted Muslims.

"He tried to kill a lot of people so obviously it's aterrorist attack. He targeted Muslims this time," the witness,identified only as Rayan, said.

Other witnesses told Sky television that the van had hit atleast 10 people.