LONDON — The man detained on Tuesday on suspicion of deliberately targeting pedestrians outside Britain’s Parliament is Salih Khater, a British citizen of Sudanese origin who was not previously known to intelligence agencies, a European security source said.

Police arrested the 29-year-old after he appeared to drive his car at cyclists and pedestrians before ramming his car into barriers.

“It is still being treated as terrorism but the motive is unknown as yet,” said a European security source.

Police have given no further details about the man.