London police have arrested two men in connection with an arson attack on four ambulances belonging to a Jewish charity in the Golders Green neighborhood. The attack, which occurred early Monday morning, is being investigated as an antisemitic hate crime.
The Metropolitan Police confirmed the arrests of two men, aged 45 and 47, on suspicion of arson with intent to endanger life. Both men were taken to a London police station for questioning. Police are also searching two properties in north London near the attack scene.
Commander Helen Flanagan, head of Counter Terrorism Policing London, described the arrests as "an important breakthrough in the investigation." However, she noted that surveillance footage suggests three people were involved in the attack.
an important breakthrough in the investigation
The ambulances belonged to Hatzola Northwest, a Jewish volunteer organization providing medical services to Jewish communities. The vehicles were parked outside a synagogue when they were set ablaze, causing oxygen cylinders inside to explode and breaking windows in an adjacent apartment block.
Police are investigating a claim of responsibility posted on social media by a group calling itself Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia (Islamic Movement of the Companions of the Right), which has suspected links to Iran. Israeli authorities have described the group as recently founded with connections to pro-Tehran networks that have also claimed responsibility for synagogue attacks in Belgium and the Netherlands.
Metropolitan Police chief Mark Rowley said detectives are investigating the claim but that it was too early to attribute the attack to the Iranian regime. The UK has previously accused Tehran of using criminal proxies to conduct attacks on European soil targeting opposition media outlets and the Jewish community.