Overview
Pakistani-born British citizen Khuram Butt was the suspected ringleader of a terrorist attack carried out in London, England, on June 3, 2017, that killed eight individuals and injured 48 others.“London attack: Who were the attackers?,” BBC News, June 28, 2017, https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-40173157; Tom Cleary, “Youssef Zaghba: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know,” Heavy.com, June 6, 2017, https://heavy.com/news/2017/06/youssef-zaghba-london-bridge-terror-attacks-stabbings-suspect-attacker-killer-name/; Sarah Knapton, “Khuram Butt, Rachid Redouane and Youssef Zaghba named: Everything we know about the London Bridge terrorists,” Telegraph (London), June 6, 2017, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/06/05/ringleader-london-bridge-terror-attack-named-khuram-butt/. In the attack, Butt, Youssef Zaghba, and Rachid Redouane drove a van into pedestrians on London Bridge, then continued on foot to the Borough Market area where they stabbed additional bystanders before police arrived and shot dead all three assailants. ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack the next day.Tom Cleary, “Youssef Zaghba: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know,” Heavy.com, June 6, 2017, https://heavy.com/news/2017/06/youssef-zaghba-london-bridge-terror-attacks-stabbings-suspect-attacker-killer-name/. All three assailants were reportedly linked to the U.K.-banned jihadist network al-Muhajiroun.Rukmini Callimachi and Katirn Bennhold, “London Attackers Slip By Despite an Avalanche of Warnings,” New York Times, June 6, 2017, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/06/world/europe/london-assailants-terrorism-warning-signs-fbi.html, Mark White, “London Bridge attackers were part of banned jihadi network,” Sky News, June 6, 2017, https://news.sky.com/story/london-bridge-attacker-khuram-butt-was-part-of-banned-jihadi-network-10906091.
Born in Pakistan, Butt reportedly moved the United Kingdom as a child refugee.Sarah Knapton, “Khuram Butt, Rachid Redouane and Youssef Zaghba named: Everything we know about the London Bridge terrorists,” Telegraph (London), June 6, 2017, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/06/05/ringleader-london-bridge-terror-attack-named-khuram-butt/. Butt was educated there, receiving a business administration vocational qualification in 2009 and a diploma in teaching English to adults in 2016.“What we know about the London Bridge killers,” Sky News, June, 7, 2017, https://news.sky.com/story/third-london-attacker-named-as-youssef-zaghba-10905940. According to a friend, he was radicalized by watching YouTube videos of U.S. hate preacher Ahmad Musa JibrilPatrick Knox, “What was Jihadis Next Door on Channel 4 and when did London Bridge attacker Khuram Butt appear on the documentary?,” Sun (London), March 15, 2018, https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/3733446/jihadis-next-door-when-did-london-bridge-attacker-khuram-butt-appear-channel-4/; Sarah Knapton, “Khuram Butt, Rachid Redouane and Youssef Zaghba named: Everything we know about the London Bridge terrorists,” Telegraph (London), June 6, 2017, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/06/05/ringleader-london-bridge-terror-attack-named-khuram-butt/. The New York Times reported that Butt initially connected with co-attacker Youssef Zaghba through the al-Muhajiroun network.Rukmini Callimachi and Katirn Bennhold, “London Attackers Slip By Despite an Avalanche of Warnings,” New York Times, June 6, 2017, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/06/world/europe/london-assailants-terrorism-warning-signs-fbi.html.
Butt was reported to authorities at least twice for extremist behavior. In 2015, his neighbor Erica Gasprri reported him to the police on the suspicion that he was trying to radicalize children in a local park. Gasparri reportedly confronted him after her son came home from the park and told her, “Mummy, I want to be a Muslim.”Robert Booth, “London Bridge attacker named as Khuram Butt,” Guardian (London), June 5, 2017, https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/jun/05/london-bridge-attacker-named-as-khuram-butt. The London Metropolitan Police Service and MI5 launched an investigation into Butt that year, but downgraded it after failing to find evidence of terrorist activity.Robert Booth, “London Bridge attacker named as Khuram Butt,” Guardian (London), June 5, 2017, https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/jun/05/london-bridge-attacker-named-as-khuram-butt; “London attack: Who were the attackers?,” BBC News, June 28, 2017, https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-40173157. Butt was again reported to authorities in July 2016 after being involved in a violent confrontation with Dr. Usama Hasan, the Head of Islamic Studies at the British counter-extremism think tank Quilliam, at an event marking the Islamic Eid holiday. The confrontation started after Butt reportedly accused Hasan of taking “government money to spy on Muslims,” supporting gay marriage, and believing in evolution.Jamie Grierson, “London Bridge attacker Khuram Butt had argued with anti-extremist Muslims,” Guardian (London), June 6, 2017, https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/jun/06/london-bridge-attacker-khuram-butt-had-argued-with-anti-extremist-muslims.
On June 3, 2017, Butt, Rachid Redouane, and Youssef Zaghba drove a van into pedestrians on London Bridge. The three men then exited the vehicle wearing fake suicide belts in an attempt to deter authorities and continued on foot to the Borough Market area, where they stabbed individuals in bars and restaurants using knives.Tom Cleary, “Youssef Zaghba: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know,” Heavy.com, June 6, 2017, https://heavy.com/news/2017/06/youssef-zaghba-london-bridge-terror-attacks-stabbings-suspect-attacker-killer-name/; Lizzie Dearden, “London attack: Rachid Redouane's wife says she is 'numbed' by his actions amid reports of domestic abuse,” Independent (London), June 7, 2017, https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/london-attack-rachid-redouane-wife-domestic-abuse-numbed-response-bridge-borough-market-isis-a7778041.html. In total, they killed eight people and injured 48 others before police arrived at the scene and shot dead all three assailants.“London attack: Who were the attackers?,” BBC News, June 28, 2017, https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-40173157; Tom Cleary, “Youssef Zaghba: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know,” Heavy.com, June 6, 2017, https://heavy.com/news/2017/06/youssef-zaghba-london-bridge-terror-attacks-stabbings-suspect-attacker-killer-name/. Butt was later named as the ringleader of the attack.Sarah Knapton, “Khuram Butt, Rachid Redouane and Youssef Zaghba named: Everything we know about the London Bridge terrorists,” Telegraph (London), June 6, 2017, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/06/05/ringleader-london-bridge-terror-attack-named-khuram-butt/. ISIS’s Amaq News Agency claimed responsibility for the attack the following day.Lizzie Dearden, “London terror attack: Isis claims responsibility amid group’s ‘call for increased attacks,’” Independent (London), June 4, 2017, https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/london-terror-attack-isis-claims-responsibility-borough-market-bridge-a7772776.html; Sarah Knapton, “Khuram Butt, Rachid Redouane and Youssef Zaghba named: Everything we know about the London Bridge terrorists,” Telegraph (London), June 6, 2017, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/06/05/ringleader-london-bridge-terror-attack-named-khuram-butt/.
Associated Groups
- Extremist entity
- ISIS
- Read Threat Report
- Type(s) of Organization:
- Insurgent, territory-controlling, religious, terrorist, violent
- Ideologies and Affiliations:
- Islamist, jihadist, pan-Islamist, Salafist, takfiri
- Position(s):
- Perpetrator of the June 3, 2017 London Bridge attack
ISIS is a violent jihadist group based in Iraq and Syria. The group has declared wilayas (provinces) in Egypt, Libya, Algeria, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Nigeria, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the North Caucasus. ISIS has also waged attacks in Turkey, Lebanon, France, Belgium, Iraq, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Malaysia, Tunisia, and Kuwait.
History
Daily Dose
Extremists: Their Words. Their Actions.
Fact:
On October 7, 2023, Hamas invaded southern Israel where, in the space of eight hours, hundreds of armed terrorists perpetrated mass crimes of brutality, rape, and torture against men, women and children. In the biggest attack on Jewish life in a single day since the Holocaust, 1,200 were killed, and 251 were taken hostage into Gaza—where 101 remain. One year on, antisemitic incidents have increased by record numbers.