London, United Kingdom. British police said they arrested two people after an attempted arson attack on a north London synagogue, as counter-terrorism officers investigate possible links to other recent attacks on Jewish targets and Iran.
Arrests and incident details
Police said 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 at Kenton United Synagogue. The fire caused minor smoke damage to an internal room and no injuries were reported.
Recent incidents targeting Jewish sites
Police said the attack on Kenton United Synagogue was the latest in a series of arson incidents targeting Jewish sites across London 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.
Israeli embassy report
Police said they 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.
Context and security warnings
Police and community groups say 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.
British security officials have previously warned that Iran has sought to use criminal proxies to carry out hostile activity in the UK.
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