Two men have been arrested in connection with an arson attack that destroyed ambulances serving a Jewish community in north London, police said on Wednesday.
Counterterrorism officers from the Metropolitan Police detained men aged 47 and 45 at separate addresses in London. Both remain in custody as the investigation continues.
Police said CCTV footage indicates at least three suspects were involved in the incident. Shortly after midnight on Monday, four ambulances operated by Hatzola, a volunteer emergency service in Golders Green, were set on fire. Gas canisters inside the vehicles exploded, prompting evacuations from nearby homes. Residents reported that the blasts shattered windows, including at a nearby synagogue.
British authorities have in recent years accused Iran of using criminal proxies to carry out operations in Europe targeting dissidents and Jewish communities. MI5 has said it disrupted more than 20 “potentially lethal” Iran-backed plots in the year to October.
Police are also probing an online claim of responsibility by a group calling itself Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia, or the Islamic Movement of the Companions of the Right. Israeli officials have described the group as newly formed with suspected links to pro-Iran networks and said it has claimed responsibility for synagogue attacks in Belgium and the Netherlands. Metropolitan Police chief Mark Rowley said it was too early to attribute the attack to the Iranian state.
Counterterrorism officials urged anyone with information to come forward and thanked local residents and the Jewish community for their cooperation. “We know that community concerns remain heightened,” a senior police official said, adding that an increased police presence would remain in place across London in the coming days and weeks. Police described the measures as precautionary, not a response to a specific threat.
Edited by: Wesley Dockery