Spain identifies female victim of London attack

LONDON – The Spanish Foreign Ministry has identified a British national whose mother is Spanish as one of the people killed in the London attack.

A spokesman said that Spanish consular officials have made contact with Ms Aysha Frade’s relatives in Spain’s northwestern region of Galicia when her identity was confirmed.

He was unable to give any further details. Spain’s regional Voz de Galicia newspaper said on Thursday (March 23) that Ms Frade was 43 years old and was teaching Spanish in London.

According to British media reports, she was leaving work at the DLD College near the Westminster Bridge, and crossing the bridge to pick up her children – aged eight and 11 – from school, when she lost her life after being hit by a car driven by the assailant.

On Wednesday, a man driving an SUV plowed into pedestrians on Westminster Bridge before he fatally stabbed a police officer on the compound of the UK Parliament.

Two other people – including Ms Frade – were killed, and police shot dead the attacker. Dozens more were injured.

On Thursday, Britain’s parliament reopened with a minute's silence in a gesture of defiance, showing a commitment to the values at the core of the nation's government. Sombre-looking lawmakers in a packed House of Commons chamber bowed their heads and police officers also marked the silence standing outside the headquarters of London's Metropolitan Police nearby.

Britain’s defense secretary Michael Fallon has praised the work of police officers after the attack, and said that a “very urgent investigation” had been going on around the clock to determine whether “anybody else was involved”.Earlier, police said they believe the attacker who killed three people, including a police officer, acted alone and was “inspired by international terrorism”.

Police have conducted major raids overnight and detained eight people. AGENCIES