London attack: Ex-wife 'numbed' by attacker's actions

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Rachid RedouaneImage source, Metropolitan Police
Image caption,

Rachid Redouane was one of the three London attackers

The ex-wife of one of the London attackers has spoken of how she will one day have to explain to their daughter what her father did.

Charisse O'Leary said she was "deeply shocked, saddened and numbed" by the actions of Rachid Redouane.

He was one of three men who drove into pedestrians on London Bridge before stabbing people in Borough Market on Saturday night.

Police said the death toll had now risen to eight.

Ms O'Leary said: "My thoughts and efforts now are with trying to bring up my daughter with the knowledge that someday I will have to try and explain to her why her father did what he did."

Redouane, 30, was a chef who also used the name Rachid Elkhdar. Police said he claimed to be Moroccan-Libyan.

Police named the attackers as Youssef Zaghba, a 22-year-old Moroccan-Italian who lived in east London, Khuram Butt, 27, from Barking, and Redouane, who also lived in Barking.

In March 2016, Italian officers stopped Zaghba at Bologna airport and found material related to so-called Islamic State on his mobile phone. He was then stopped from continuing his journey to Istanbul.

Zaghba's mother Valeria Collina Kadhija has said "it's impossible for me to say anything that makes sense".

Speaking at her house in Bologna, Italy, she said she believed her son was radicalised in the UK.

She said he was under surveillance when he was in Italy and questioned why this was not the case in Britain.

An Italian police source confirmed to the BBC that Zaghba had been placed on a watch list, which is shared with many countries, including the UK.

"From 2016 there were problems with my son - the fact that he was stopped at Bologna airport," she said.

"He would say to me: 'Come on mum, let's go live in Syria. Over there, they have a pure Islam.'

"I told him: 'Are you crazy? I have no intention of going to Syria with you or with anyone. I'm fine in my country.'"