UK moves to ease tensions after van attack on London Muslims

Mayor Sadiq Khan, London's first Muslim mayor, urged residents to focus on their shared values and to stand together during an unprecedented period in the capital's history. The attack Monday hits a community already feeling targeted in the fallout from the London Bridge killings and other attacks blamed on Islamic extremists.

British security officials, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with official policy, said hate crimes directed at Muslims have increased nearly five-fold in the wake of several attacks in Britain.

"While this appears to be an attack on a particular community, like the terrible attacks in Manchester, Westminster and London Bridge, it is also an assault on all our shared values of tolerance, freedom and respect," Khan said.

Vowing "zero tolerance" for hate crimes, Khan declared "we will not allow these terrorists to succeed ... we will stay a strong city."The attack laid bare the frustrations of Muslims who feel they've been unfairly equated with the extremists who carry out atrocities in the name of Islam. Ali Habib, a 23-year-old student, said residents are angry that the mosque attack hasn't been portrayed in the same light as other attacks across Britain.

"There has been an outpouring of sympathy for all for the recent terror attacks but hardly a whisper on this attack," he said. "People are both scared and angry. Parents are scared to send their children to evening prayers. I don't think people understand how much these attacks affect all of us."May attempted to counter that feeling in her speech, declaring that police arrived at the scene within one minute, and that it was classified as a possible terror attack in eight minutes. The prime minister, who has been criticized for failing to show compassion to victims, traveled to the attack site within hours, and met with community and faith leaders.

Standing outside her Downing Street office, May sought to convey that Britain and London would not fold in the face of the unprecedented series of horrific events.

"Diverse, welcoming, vibrant, compassionate, confident and determined never to give in to hate. These are the values that define this city, "she said. "These are the values that define this country. These are the values that this government will uphold. These are the values that will prevail.'The attack occurred outside the Muslim Welfare House, a small mosque with about 200 congregants. Nearby, evening prayer services had just concluded at the larger Finsbury Park Mosque, which had been associated with extremist ideology for several years after the 9/11 attacks in the United States. After those attacks, the mosque was shut down and reorganized and has not been associated with radical views for more than a decade.

The mosque's current leaders say they support inter-faith dialogue and want to serve the nearby community in north London, which is located near Emirates Stadium, home of the Arsenal soccer club.

Britain's terror alert level is at "severe," meaning security officials believe an attack is highly likely, and a series of extremist attacks have struck across the country in the last few months.

On June 3, Islamic extremists used a vehicle and then knives to kill eight people and wound dozens of others on London Bridge and in the popular Borough Market area. Police shot and killed the three Islamic extremists who carried out the attack.

In March, a man plowed a rented SUV into pedestrians on London's Westminster Bridge, killing four people before stabbing a police officer to death outside Parliament. He was also killed by police.

To the north, Manchester was hit by a deadly attack May 22 when a suicide bomber killed 22 people at an Ariana Grande concert.

AP