(The Root) — Two men allegedly attacked a British soldier on active duty in London on Wednesday, beheading him with machetes and meat cleavers while citizens looked on in horror. The assailants reportedly hit the soldier with their car before attacking him.
Afterward they demanded that people on the scene take video. One of the attackers spoke boldly into a camera, his hands covered in blood, attempting to justify the attack.
The crime is officially being treated as a terrorist attack. The assailants reportedly shouted "Allahu akbar" after the beheading and said on camera, "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."
The ambush was captured in chilling detail in tweets by a passerby. Twitter reacted to news of the attack with shock and disbelief.
WHOA!!!! Just saw AlJazeera stream of man in England with Machete in hand and blood all over who attacked a soldier. UGH. #cantunseethat
— ProfB (@AntheaButler) May 22, 2013
Tracy Clayton is a writer, humorist and blogger from Louisville, Ky.