The Brandenburg Gate is illuminated with the colours of the British flag to show solidarity with the victims of the recent attack in London, in Berlin, Germany June 4, 2017.
The Brandenburg Gate is illuminated with the colours of the British flag to show solidarity with the victims of the recent attack in London, in Berlin, Germany June 4, 2017. Reuters/Christian Mang

The acting US ambassador in London has praised London Mayor Sadiq Khan for his “strong leadership” after the London Bridge terror attack. Lewis Lukens’ tweets came just hours after US President Donald Trump criticised Khan.

The American diplomat offered his condolences and support to the victims of the London terror attack on Friday, commending Khan at the same time for his active response to the tragedy. He included a video of the mayor sending a message to the world after terrorists killed people in a knife rampage.

“I commend the strong leadership of the @MayorofLondon as he leads the city forward after this heinous attack,” he wrote.

His tweets were a contrast to Trump’s response to the London attack, in which he lambasted Khan for suggesting that Londoners had “no reason to be alarmed.” Khan’s spokesman, in return, said that the British mayor had “more important things to do than respond to Donald Trump’s ill-informed tweet that deliberately takes out of context his remarks.”

Lukens has been serving in his position since Jan. 18. He replaced Matthew Barzun, who was nominated by former president Barack Obama. As an acting ambassador, Lukens will be replaced by Woody Johnson, who is still awaiting Senate confirmation.

2017 London attack

On Friday evening, three men wearing fake explosive vests drove a van into pedestrians on London Bridge. The men then went to Borough Market and stabbed people nearby. Seven people were killed and 48 were wounded in the attack. The three assailants were killed by the police. Twelve people were also arrested the next day.

The identities of the deceased attackers have not yet been released. The police are treating the incident as a terrorist attack.

UK Prime Minister Theresa May called for tighter Internet regulations to deprive terrorists of a place to breed hate. She also said that the three recent terror attacks in the UK were “bound together by the single evil ideology of Islamic extremism.” She was referring to the Westminster attack on March 22, in which a man drove a car into pedestrians on Westminster Bridge, killing six and injuring dozens of people, and the May 22 Manchester Arena bombing, in which a large explosion caused by a suicide bomber killed 22 people and injuring over a hundred at Ariana Grande’s concert.

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull commended the first responders in London who had killed the terrorists within minutes of the attack. He assured people that Australia would never bow to terrorism. The tragedy has affected two Australians; one is confirmed to be in a hospital.

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