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Utah man on anniversary trip among London dead

Utah man on anniversary trip among London dead
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LONDON (AP) -- The latest on the attack outside Britain's Parliament (all times local):

   2:30 p.m.

   A Mormon church official says a Utah man was killed and his wife was seriously wounded in the London attack.

   Kurt W. Cochran and his wife, Melissa, were on the last day of a trip celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary on Wednesday when the attacker struck in the heart of London. He plowed an SUV into pedestrians on Westminster Bridge, killing two and wounding dozens, then stabbed police officer Keith Palmer to death inside the gates of Parliament.

   The assailant was shot dead by armed officers. The woman remains hospitalized.

   The church said Thursday the Utah couple was also visiting the woman's parents, who are Mormon missionaries in London.

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   13:35 p.m.

   European Union Security Commissioner Julian King is suggesting there could be a link between Wednesday's attack in London and the suicide bombings in Brussels exactly one year ago.

   King said Thursday that "l don't think it was a complete accident that this attack took place on the first anniversary of the Brussels attacks."

   He did not say whether the link went beyond that both took place on March 22. The attacks on Brussels' airport and subway last year killed 32 people.

   King also said that "the methodology of the London attacker fits into a pattern of behavior which we have seen before" in vehicle attacks in Berlin and Nice last year.

   King, who is from Britain, added that "the terrorist threat remains extremely high across Europe."

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   13:25 p.m.

   British police say Westminster Bridge has reopened to traffic less than 24 hours after Wednesday's attack.

   The landmark bridge across the River Thames had been shut since an unidentified assailant hit a number of pedestrians with his vehicle. He was later shot to death after rushing onto the Parliament grounds and stabbing a policeman.

   The busy bridge is a popular tourist site for visitors seeking selfies near Parliament and the London Eye.

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   13:20 p.m.

   Italy's ambassador to Britain says an Italian tourist who was injured when she was hit by the assailant's vehicle in Wednesday's attack is doing better.

   The Italian news agency ANSA, reporting from London, quoted Ambassador Pasquale Terracciano, as saying Thursday she told him she had lost consciousness for about 10 minutes after being struck by the car's bumper. The ambassador had visited the woman in the hospital.

   The woman, a tourist from Rome, underwent surgery for a compound leg fracture. She also suffered less serious injury to two of her vertebrae near her neck and head trauma.

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   12:55 p.m.

   Queen Elizabeth II says her "thoughts, prayers, and deepest sympathy" are with those affected by Wednesday's attack in London.

   The monarch said:  "I know I speak for everyone in expressing my enduring thanks and admiration for the members of the Metropolitan Police Service and all who work so selflessly to help and protect others."

   She also sent a message of apology to London's police force after plans to have her preside over the opening of the New Scotland Yard building were cancelled following the attack.

   The queen said in the statement Thursday that she looks forward "to visiting at a later date."

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   12:40 p.m.

   A British lawmaker has choked back tears as he remembered his friendship with the police officer killed on Wednesday's attack on Parliament.

   His voice breaking, Conservative legislator James Cleverly called for Constable Keith Palmer to receive posthumous recognition for his "gallantry and sacrifice."

   He said he first met Palmer 25 years ago as "Gunner Keith Palmer" when both men served in the Royal Artillery.

   Cleverly said the 48-year-old police officer, stabbed to death by an attacker trying to enter Parliament, was "a strong, professional public servant and it was a delight to meet him again only a few months after being elected."

   Prime Minister Theresa May said Palmer had "paid the ultimate sacrifice here at the heart of our democracy" and that the suggestion of posthumous recognition would be considered.

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   12:35 p.m.

   The Islamic State group says the attack outside the British parliament in London was carried out by one of its "soldiers."

   The IS-linked Aamaq news agency said Thursday that the person who carried out the "attack in front of the British parliament in London was a soldier of the Islamic State."

   It added that the person "carried out the operation in response to calls for targeting citizens of the coalition."

   IS has called on its supporters to carry out attacks against citizens of the U.S.-led coalition that has been targeting the group since 2014.

   IS, who have been responsible for numerous bloody attacks around the globe, have also previously claimed certain attacks in a show of opportunism. Britain's government has not identified the suspect.

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