Vehicle hits crowd near London mosque

LONDON — A vehicle struck pedestrians outside a mosque in north London early this morning, causing several casualties, police said.

One person has been arrested. The London Ambulance Service says the injured are being taken to hospitals. Eyewitnesses reported seeing police give emergency medical treatment to at least one of the injured.

The Muslim Council tweeted that worshippers were struck by a van as they were leaving prayers at the Finsbury Park mosque. It said its prayers are with the victims.

The Finsbury Park mosque was associated with extremist ideology for several years after the 9/11 attacks in the United States but was shut down and reorganized. It has not been associated with radical views for more than a decade.

London police have declared the crash a major incident and closed the area to normal traffic.

People had been attending prayers in the area as part of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Metropolitan Police said officers were called to the scene on Seven Sisters Road at 12:20 a.m. today. No other details were immediately available.

Britain’s terrorist alert has been set at “severe” meaning an attack is highly likely.