LONDON, April 20 (Reuters) – British police said on Monday they arrested two people over an attempted arson attack on a synagogue in north London over the weekend, as counter-terrorism officers probe possible links between a series of recent attacks on Jewish targets and Iran.
A 17-year-old boy and a 19-year-old man were taken into custody overnight in connection with the incident, which occurred early on Sunday morning, the police said. The fire caused minor smoke damage to an internal room and no injuries were reported.
The attack on Kenton United Synagogue was the latest in a series of arson incidents targeting Jewish sites across the capital in recent weeks.
On Friday night, police said there was an attempted arson attack on a business premises linked to the Jewish community. Earlier last week, two suspects were arrested over an attempted arson attack at another synagogue in the capital.
Last month, several ambulances belonging to the Jewish volunteer emergency service Hatzola were set alight while parked near a synagogue in the Golders Green area of north London.
Police also briefly cordoned off an area near the Israeli embassy in London over the weekend following an online report that it had been targeted with drones carrying “dangerous substances”. Officers later said items recovered did not contain any harmful or hazardous materials.
Attacks on Jewish people and Jewish targets have risen in Britain since the October 2023 Hamas assault on Israel that triggered the war in Gaza, according to police and community groups.
British security officials have previously warned that Iran has sought to use criminal proxies to carry out hostile activity in the UK.
(Reporting by Sam Tabahriti; editing by Sarah Young)
