Two teenagers arrested over attack on Harrow synagogue

A 17-year-old boy and a 19-year-old man have been arrested over an arson attack on a synagogue, police said.

The pair were taken into custody overnight in connection with the attack on the Kenton United Synagogue in Harrow, according to Deputy Commissioner Matt Jukes of the Metropolitan Police.

In a news conference on Sunday, DC Jukes said the synagogue was hit by an attempted "firebomb" in the early hours on that morning.

He said there had been several incidents in recent weeks targeting Britain's Jewish community and those opposed to the Iranian government.

Bins had also been set alight outside a communal block on the same night, he added.

Met deputy assistant commissioner Vicki Evans previously said most of the recent incidents had been claimed online by the Ashab al-Yamin group.

The group has also claimed similar attacks on Jewish communities across Europe in recent months.

"We are aware of public reporting that suggests this group may have links to Iran. As you would expect, we will continue to explore that question as our investigation evolves," she said.

"I've spoken previously about the Iranian regime's use of criminal proxies, and we're considering whether this tactic is being used here in London."

Speaking to the BBC's Today programme on Monday, DC Jukes said: "I think that's a very serious line of inquiry in relation to these events.

"We've seen a pattern... people taking cash as it looks like quick and easy money."

He added: "This is part of the modern hybrid war fought by proxies."

Addressing the attack on the synagogue in Harrow, he added: "I'm really pleased to say that overnight, we have news of two arrests in relation to that incident.

"We've made over the last weeks, 15 arrests in relation to a series of six incidents that have targeted Jewish premises, the Jewish-led ambulance service, and a Persian media organisation."

A spokesperson for the Met previously described how a "bottle with some sort of accelerant had been thrown through the window" of the synagogue. Police said the incident was being treated as arson.

On Sunday, Yehuda Black, rabbi of Kenton United Synagogue, said the item had been thrown into the medical room.

The Community Security Trust said minor smoke damage to an internal room was caused, but there were no injuries or significant structural damage.

Chief rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis described the arson attack as "cowardly" and said "a sustained campaign of violence and intimidation against the Jewish community of the UK is gathering momentum".

The attack on the synagogue came a day after an arson attack on a building that used to house a Jewish charity elsewhere in northwest London, which is being investigated as an antisemitic hate crime.

Also on Friday, suspicious items, including two jars containing powder, were found near the Israeli embassy in west London.

Police said the embassy was not attacked, but officers are still investigating whether the items are connected to a video posted by an Iran-linked Islamist group which claimed to have targeted the building with drones carrying dangerous substances.

The incidents followed a spate of other attacks in recent weeks.

Last month, four ambulances run by a Jewish charity were set ablaze in Golders Green, north London, leading to four arrests.

Two people were also arrested last week after bottles of petrol were thrown at a synagogue in Finchley, northwest London.

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