London attack bears Islamic State ‘signature’ but no clear link

The "Islamic State soldier" who killed four people in an attack on the British parliament may have been inspired by calls to arms against the West but the militant group has given no evidence yet that he acted on specific instructions. British-born Muslim convert Khalid Masood mowed down pedestrians in his car and stabbed a policeman to death in a high-profile killing which echoed other deadly attacks in Europe claimed by the ultra-hardline Islamists.

#BREAKING: ISIS claims London attack carried out by a "soldier of the Islamic State" https://t.co/KXCWhDZ997 pic.twitter.com/VRGFwCytY5

— The Hill (@thehill) March 23, 2017

Almost 24 hours after the killings, the group issued a brief statement calling Masood one of its soldiers. But it offered no details to suggest that Islamic State's leadership - losing ground to enemies in Syria and Iraq - knew of his plans in advance.

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Also Read- IS claims responsibility as London attacker was British-born

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That in itself does not rule out coordination between Masood and militants in the shrinking, self-styled caliphate. The Islamic State frequently delays releasing video footage or other material showing the planning and implementation of operations. But the nature of Wednesday's killings, carried out by a single assailant armed only with a hire car and a knife, matched a pattern of recent attacks which require no training, military expertise or outside guidance.

UK INVESTIGATORS CONSIDERING POSSIBILITY THAT LONDON ATTACK WAS INSPIRED BY ISLAMIC STATE PROPAGANDA - EUROPEAN GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL — Julian Druker (@Julian5News) March 22, 2017

Islamic State spokesman Abu Mohammed al Adnani called on sympathisers across the world to carry out exactly those kinds of attacks in an appeal issued when the group was at the peak of its power in late 2014. "If you can, kill a disbelieving American or European ... smash his head with a rock, or slaughter him with a knife, or run him over with your car, or throw him down from a high place, or choke him, or poison him," said Adnani, who was killed in a US air strike in Syria last August.