Islamic terrorists who slaughtered seven people in London last week probably would have killed more had it not been for several courageous people who fought back. Their stories are illustrative of the extremists’ mindset.

One hero in a pub saw all three knife-wielding brutes stabbing a woman they had forced to the floor. He began throwing glasses, stools, anything he could lay his hands on, at the attackers.

Witnesses credit the man with extraordinary bravery. One terrorist started toward him — then changed his mind.

Such behavior is typical. Islamic terrorists love to kill people — as long as they can take victims by surprise or corner people who can’t fight back.

But confronted with anything that may be a threat, many seem to be drained of enthusiasm.

Another aspect of the London murderers’ behavior reinforces that appearance. All three of the dead killers wore fake suicide vests, made to look like they held explosives. They did not.

Clearly, the terrorists wanted to frighten people away from them. Real suicide bombers want as many people near them as possible.

Islamic terrorists are eager to decapitate helpless victims, to kill innocent children, to use civilians as human shields. But unless they can use improvised explosive devices detonated at a distance, they avoid confrontations with armed troops and police.

They brag of being “soldiers” for Allah. In reality, many are no more than cowardly murderers.