Protesters rally in London over beheading of soldier

London: Supporters of the far right English Defence League rallied in Central London shouting anti-Islamic slogans in protest over the beheading of a soldier last week. Two war memorials have also been vandalised in the city.

Three men arrested in London were on Monday released on bail while the two main accused, shot by police, remain under arrest in a hospital. The trio, aged 21, 24 and 28, were arrested in southeast London on Saturday, three days after 25-year-old Lee Rigby was hit by a car and then attacked with a knife and a meat cleaver in Woolwich.

They have been bailed to return to a south London police station, the Metropolitan Police said in a statement. Michael Adebolajo, 28, and Michael Oluwatobi Adebowale, 22, who were arrested on suspicion of murder at the scene of the killing on Wednesday, remain under arrest.

Counter-terrorism officers are also continuing to question a 22-year-old man in Highbury Grove, north London, who was arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to murder. Meanwhile, the British Foreign Office confirmed that Adebolajo had been arrested in Kenya in 2010. He was arrested with five others, and later deported, which is common in Kenya when involvement with terrorism is suspected.

The Foreign Office in a statement said: "We can confirm a British national was arrested in Kenya in 2010." It provided consular assistance, as is normal for British nationals.

The two suspects arrested at the scene of the killing remain in hospital and will be formally interviewed when it is possible to do so, police said. They were shot by police when they charged towards armed officers in Woolwich.

Home Secretary Theresa May said counter-terrorism officers from around the country have been brought in to boost the total number of police working on the investigation to 500. The arrests came as Downing Street confirmed the launch of a new terror task force to crack down on extremism.

Prime Minister David Cameron, who is on a family holiday in Ibiza, has also said that the parliamentary Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) will carry out an investigation after it emerged that Adebolajo and Adebowale were known to MI5.

(With Additional Inputs From PTI)