Third French victim confirmed in London attack

PARIS, France (UPDATED) – French President Emmanuel Macron confirmed Wednesday, June 7, that a third citizen had died in last weekend’s jihadist attack in London, after police searching for a missing Frenchman found a body in the River Thames.

“We received confirmation of the new toll this morning. There are 3 deaths and 8 injuries on the French side,” Macron said, deploring the “heavy toll these attacks have taken on us”.

Macron did not confirm the identity of the third French victim. 

London police said earlier they had recovered a body from the Thames in their search for Xavier Thomas, a 45-year-old missing since Saturday’s attack.

The Islamic State group (ISIS) claimed responsibility for the attack in which police have now confirmed that 8 people were killed.

The body was found late Tuesday about two kilometers (over one mile) downstream from London Bridge, where Saturday’s van and knife attacks began.

Thomas and his girlfriend were visiting London at the time of the attack. 

They were walking over London Bridge when the three assailants in a van mowed down pedestrians on the bridge and then launched a stabbing spree in and around bars in nearby Borough Market.

His girlfriend was hit by the vehicle and suffered serious injuries.

Macron praised the British for their sang-froid in the face of the attacks and emphasised France’s “desire to win this war against terrorism together”.

“The British people are courageous, stand tall and do not give up. And we are the same,” he said. – Rappler.com