SOUTHPORT — A large crowd of anti-Muslim protesters clashed with police on Tuesday (July 30) in a northern English town where three girls were stabbed to death and five other children critically wounded during an attack on a Taylor Swift-themed event on Monday.

The horrific stabbing incident in Southport, a quiet seaside town north of Liverpool, has shocked the nation. Police have said it was not linked to terrorism and that the suspect was born in the UK.

Yet far-right groups have stoked speculation that the teenage suspect was involved with Islam, and police said Tuesday's violence erupted when several hundred people began to throw items at a mosque. Police linked the crowd to the English Defence League, a group which has sometimes staged violent demonstrations against Islam.

Police vehicles were damaged and set alight, officers were pelted by bricks and large garbage containers. One video posted online showed the crowd chanting "we want our country back".

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