Four men arrested after Rotterdam synagogue arson attack

AMSTERDAM, March 13 (Reuters) - ‌Dutch police on ​Friday ​said four men were arrested after an arson attack on a synagogue in the centre ‌of Rotterdam, in the latest incident of suspected ⁠antisemitic violence since the start of the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.

No ‌one was injured as ‌a result of the fire, which was caused by an explosion around 3:40 a.m. (0240 GMT), Rotterdam police ​said.

Police said surveillance had immediately been increased at other synagogues across the city.

The four men were ⁠held after police stopped a car that was driving suspiciously near another synagogue, ​with the description of the driver matching one of the perpetrators of the earlier attack.

It ​was unclear if the four ‌suspects, aged 17 to 19, had plans for attacks on other synagogues, police said, ⁠as they called for information from witnesses.

Another synagogue, around 200 km (124 miles) southeast in neighbouring Belgium, was hit by ⁠an explosion on Monday in what authorities said was an antisemitic ​attack. That attack caused damage but no injuries.

In Michigan in the U.S., a Lebanon-born U.S. citizen crashed his truck into a ‌synagogue and its preschool and was shot dead.

Concerns about possible attacks against Jewish communities ‌around the world have risen following U.S. and Israeli ⁠airstrikes on Iran and ‌a subsequent response ​by Iran.

(Reporting by Inti Landauro and Bart Meijer;Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta, William Maclean and Sharon ‌Singleton)

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