Aldagte East is right next to the financial district and a poor area with a high muslim (Bangladeshi) population and is just a few hundred yards from the main East London Mosque.
http://www.towerhamlets.gov.uk/data/discover/data/spitalfields/index.cfm
http://www.bbc.co.uk/legacies/immig_emig/england/london/article_3.shtml
So that (presuming these were Islamic terrorists), there is a good chance that they were targeting Muslims as well as Westerners in these attacks....