Soldiers armed with rifles have been deployed at Horse Guards Parade as security officials fear terrorists could target ceremonial guards
Armed soldiers have been placed outside a major tourist attraction in central London over fears terrorists will launch an Ottawa-style attack.
This picture shows a soldier armed with a rifle in Horse Guards Parade today, which is visited by thousands of tourists every day.
The dramatic step-up in security comes as officials fear a similar attack to the one in Ottawa last week, when a soldier was shot and killed close to the Canadian Parliament.
The armed soldiers have been placed in key points in Whitehall over fears the ceremonial guards could be targeted.
As reported by the the Telegraph, the soldiers have been placed at the entrance to Horse Guards Parade, where the Changing of the Guard takes place in front of tourists each day. It is also part of the Buckingham Palace estate.
A Ministry of Defence spokesman told the newspaper: “The MoD routinely reviews the security arrangements at all of its establishments. Clearly we do not comment publicly on the substance of these."
Last Wednesday, Michael Zehaf-Bibeau shot dead Cpl Nathan Cirillo, 24, as he stood guard National War Memorial in Ottawa before spraying around 30 bullets inside Canada’s parliament building.
He was shot dead by the Parliament’s head of security and sergeant-at-arms, Kevin Vickers, 58.
Zehaf-Bibeau’s mother Susan Bibeau claimed that her son was not driven by ideology but it was the ‘last desperate act’ and ‘he was made and felt trapped so the only way out was death.’
She claimed he attempted to travel to Saudi Arabia, rather than Syria as police claimed, so he could study the Koran.
The gunman's mother condemned her son’s actions as ‘wrong and despicable.”
Royal Canadian Mounted police commissioner Bob Paulson said the video was "persuasive evidence that Michael Zehaf-Bibeau's attack was driven by ideological and political motives".
He added that Zehaf-Bibeau had worked in the oil fields in Alberta, saved money and had access to a considerable amount of funds.
The attack in Ottawa came two days after a man described as an "IS-inspired terrorist" ran over two soldiers in a car park in Quebec, killing one and injuring the other before being shot dead by police.
