Armed police have made 12 arrests after raiding the East London home of one of the assailants shot dead during Saturday night's suspected terrorist attack in London Bridge.

Neighbours heard the sound of explosions as officers raided the ground-floor flat in Kings Road, Barking, at 7am on Sunday morning (4 June).

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Twelve people were detained in Barking in connection with last night's attack, police said.

"Searches of a number of addresses in Barking are continuing," the Met Police added.

Pictures posted on social media of one of the raids showed police surrounding some of the suspects as they lay face-down on the ground outside the block of flats.

The property targeted was the home of one of the three assailants shot dead during the attacks in London Bridge, Sky News reported.

Neighbours shown a picture of the suspect reportedly confirmed that he had lived at the property for several years.

One neighbour, Damian Petitt, said he was a young father of Middle Eastern origin with a London accent.

"If it is [him], I'm completely shocked," he said. "He's been living here for three years. He's a member of the community, he very much is that. A very affable person, so it's a complete shock."

He added: "He has a family. He's always been pleasant to our family. We've all got kids within this block. I don't understand how it could have been him. He's always tried to help in terms of what's gone on in the area.

"He's always tried to help community groups in terms of the homelessness that's happening here [and] break-ins that we've had happen, so to hear that he's now complicit with this – it's very hard to stomach because it's not the person we know."

He went on to say: "He had a London accent. He worked for TFL I believe before, he worked at a gym around the corner from here. He's very much a member of the community."

Another neighbour said those arrested in the raid were "all Asian men in black religious robes".

At least seven people were killed and more than 48 injured when a van ploughed into pedestrians on London Bridge on Saturday night, with three suspected attackers then going on a knifing spree in nearby Borough Market.

The Met Police are treating the incident as a terrorist attack.

The Conservatives, Labour and the SNP all said on Sunday they would temporarily suspend campaigning for the 8 June general election.

Theresa May chaired an emergency Cobra meeting with ministers on Sunday morning in response to the incident.

She said outside Downing Street that it was time to say "enough is enough" when it comes to tackling terrorism.

"We cannot and must not pretend that things can continue as they are," she said, adding that "difficult" and potentially "embarrassing" conversations were needed within the UK about dealing with the spread of extremism.

She said the London Bridge attacks were not directly connected with the bombing last month in Manchester or March's attack in Westminster, which saw British-born terrorist Khalid Masood kill five people when he drove into pedestrians and launched a knife attack.

May said the country is "experiencing a new trend in the threat we face as terrorism breeds terrorism".

London Bridge Terror Attack