British soldier dead after alleged terror attack in Woolwich

A man reported to be a British soldier was brutally murdered in what was allegedly a terrorist attack in Woolwich, south east London .

The deceased was beheaded near a barrack by two reported Islamists who were later shot and wounded by the police.

The senior police officers believe the killing was likely to be a politically-motivated Islamist terrorist attack.

Dozens of weapons - including a number of knives - and pools of blood could be seen on the ground, where a man wearing a Help for Heroes T-shirt is said to have been attacked by two men.

Witnesses say the pair appeared to deliberately drive their car at the victim, before getting out with various bladed weapons and launching their attack.

The pair was chanting "Allahu akbar" - and asking passers-by to take photographs of them.

Brandishing a cleaver and a knife, and with the body of the victim lying yards away, the killers said:

We swear by almighty Allah we will never stop fighting you. The only reason we have done this is because Muslims are dying every day. This British soldier is an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.

We must fight them. I apologise that women had to witness this today.

Armed officers arrived at the scene and opened fire on the two alleged attackers. The men were taken to separate hospitals with gunshot wounds.

The police don't know the circumstances surrounding the incident.Schools in the area have been placed on lockdown.

The attack in Woolwich remains to be a sickening deluded and unforgivable act of violence in UK.

An aerial shot of the scene

The killers