Eight arrested as UK police probe suspected antisemitic arson attacks

By Sam Tabahriti and Sarah Young

LONDON, ‌April 21 (Reuters) - British ​counter-terrorism ​police said on Tuesday they had arrested eight people in an investigation into a series of suspected arson attacks in London, including an alleged plot targeting a ‌venue linked to the Jewish community.

Seven of the arrests were made within ⁠the past 48 hours as part of a probe into a suspected conspiracy to commit arson, the police statement ‌said.

While they did not identify a ‌specific venue, police said an intended target was connected to the Jewish community.

The arrests come as British police have been investigating a string of attacks on Jewish-linked sites in the ​capital, part of a wider rise in threats and criminal activity since the outbreak of the Israel-Gaza war in October 2023.

UK security officials have warned that Iran has sought to ⁠use criminal proxies to carry out hostile activity in the UK, and the pro-Iranian group Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiyya has claimed ​some of the latest attacks on social media.

Police made no connection between the group and the latest arrests.

SERIES OF INCIDENTS TARGETING JEWISH SITES IN LONDON

In ​the latest operations, police said detectives had arrested ‌three men aged 24, 25 and 26 in Harpenden, north of London, on Sunday evening before releasing them on bail.

On Monday, a 25-year-old man had ⁠been arrested in Stevenage, north of London, while a 26-year-old and two women aged 50 and 59 had been arrested in a vehicle near the central English city of Birmingham and taken to a London ⁠police station, where they remained in custody.

On Tuesday morning, officers arrested a 39-year-old man at an address in west ​London under Britain's Terrorism Act 2000. Police said the arrest had been linked to an investigation after jars containing a non-hazardous substance had been found in Kensington Gardens in central London last week. Searches were ‌continuing at a premises in east London, officers added.

Separately, a 17-year-old British teenage boy pleaded guilty on Tuesday to arson not endangering life, the ‌BBC reported, following an attack on a synagogue in north London over the weekend. The fire caused ⁠minor damage and no injuries.

Since an attack ‌last month on several ambulances ​belonging to a Jewish charity, counter-terrorism police said they had arrested 23 people.

(Reporting by Sarah Young and Sam Tabahriti, additional reporting by Muvija M; editing by ‌Keith Weir)

---

Serious News for Serious Traders! Try StreetInsider.com Premium Free!

---

You May Also Be Interested In

• Philippines rejects Chinese scholars' claim over its island province near Taiwan
• Quake-hit Venezuela's push for a swift debt deal raises fears of future crisis
• ICC official says breakthrough made in Darfur investigations