ISIS affiliates are celebrating the three deaths in the Wednesday afternoon terror attack on Westminster in London, the Daly Mail reported. The messages on unofficial ISIS websites happily share the news of the attack, accompanied by big “Allahu Akbar” talkbacks.
Mark Rowley, national lead for Counter Terrorism Policing and the acting deputy commissioner with the Metropolitan Police said Wednesday evening, “We have declared this a terrorist incident and the Counter Terrorism Command are carrying out a full-scale investigation into the events today. The attack started when a car was driven over Westminster Bridge, hitting and injuring a number of members of the public and three police officers who were on their way back from a commendation ceremony. The car then crashed near to Parliament and at least one man—armed with a knife—continued the attack, trying to enter Parliament.”
ISIS-supporting tweets included one poster with a photoshopped image of the London Tower on fire, with the message, “Soon. Our battle upon your land. Not started yet. Be upon you. Only waiting.”
One twitter user shared a map of the attacker’s path across Westminster Bridge and into the gates of Parliament.
However, the Daily Mail quoted the director of SITE Intelligence Group, who pointed out that the fact that ISIS was not prepared with a media campaign to complement the attack proves there was no coordination between the attacker and ISIS. In the past, ISIS online affiliates shared detailed updates following the attacks in Nice, Paris and Orlando.
Other experts argued that the use of a high-profile target such as Westminster suggests the attack was at least ISIS-inspired, if not outright coordinated.