What we know about Khalid Masood, the London attacker

He has been described as a violent character, but there have been no traces of his extremist leanings.

Khalid Masood has been identified as the man who carried out the London terror attack on Wednesday. Born in Kent in December 1964, he appears to be a new entrant into the world of terror since there was no intelligence on him. However, his crime files indicate that he had been charged for assault and possession of weapons.

Masood, according to investigations, had hired the car that he used to ram into people. An hour after hiring the car, he called the company and said that he no longer needed it. Immediately after that, he rammed into people on the Westminster Bridge.

Masood's first conviction was at 19, for criminal damage. He was also convicted in 2003 for possessing a knife. He has been described as a violent character, but there have been no traces of his extremist leanings.

[ISIS operates as a bunch of lone wolves]

Going by the investigations it appears that Masood launched a lone-wolf strike. The Islamic State was quick to claim the attack and described Masood as their soldier. The style of the London attack was similar to the ones at Berlin and Nice which were also claimed by the IS. The London police have not yet said that the attack was an IS propagated one.

British Prime Minister Theresa May described the killer as a peripheral figure. "The case is historic and he was not part of the intelligence picture," she said. "There was no prior intelligence of his intent," she told the MPs in Parliament.

OneIndia News