The police in London have arrested two men accused of setting fire to ambulances operated by a Jewish volunteer service, one of several attacks in Europe claimed by a previously unknown Islamist group.
The men, aged 45 and 47, were detained on Wednesday morning at two homes in northwest London, the Metropolitan Police said in a statement. They are accused of arson with intent to endanger life, which has a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
The police had said they were looking for three suspects in connection with the fire, which started around 1.30 a.m. on Monday. Oxygen canisters inside the ambulances exploded in the blaze, destroying three vehicles and smashing the windows of nearby homes. Nobody was injured in the attack.
The ambulances, run by the nonprofit service Hatzola, were parked outside a synagogue in the Golders Green district of London, which is known for its large Jewish population.
The two men arrested on Wednesday were being held for questioning as their homes were being searched, the police said.
Commander Helen Flanagan, head of the counterterrorism policing unit, which is leading the investigation, said: “This appears to be an important breakthrough in the investigation, but we’re also mindful that CCTV footage of the incident suggests there were at least three people involved.
“We fully recognize the local community will still be concerned and our investigation very much remains active.”
Extra police officers have been deployed to areas of London with high Jewish populations, including “highly visible armed police patrols,” which are rare in Britain, the Metropolitan Police said in its statement.
The police are investigating a claim of responsibility for the fire that was posted by a group on the Telegram messaging app early on Monday.
The group, calling itself Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiyya, has also claimed responsibility for a series of fires and explosions in Europe that started on March 9 and have struck synagogues, Jewish schools and an American bank. None of the attacks have caused injuries but they have created fear and distress amid rising antisemitism.
Several people have been arrested following those attacks. In Belgium, two teenagers were arrested after a car was set on fire Monday night in Antwerp’s Jewish quarter. Two people have been arrested in the Netherlands, where prosecutors said an attempted explosion had been prevented on March 20.
Intelligence services are investigating the group’s origins, and whether it has any links to Iran or its proxies in the Middle East.
Mark Rowley, the commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, confirmed on Monday night that investigators were looking into the online claim of responsibility by the group, which he said had “potential Iranian state links.”
He added: “It is too early for me to attribute last night’s attack in Golders Green to the Iranian state — that is rightly for the counter terrorism investigation to determine — but whoever was responsible, the impact is serious.”
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