UK police arrest 2 in connection with weekend arson attack on synagogue

LONDON (AP) — British police have arrested two teenagers in connection with a weekend arson attack on a synagogue in northwest London as Jewish leaders express concern about a wave of recent incidents targeting their community.

Deputy Commissioner Matt Jukes of London’s Metropolitan Police Service on Monday said officers arrested two young men, aged 19 and 17, overnight in relation to the attack on the Kenton United Synagogue in the borough of Harrow. The department has made 15 arrests related to six attacks on Jewish targets and a Persian-language media company that occurred over the past few weeks, he said in an interview with the BBC.

One “serious line of inquiry” is that Iran is hiring local criminals to carry out these attacks amid tensions in the Middle East, including the U.S.-Israeli war against the Islamic Republic, Jukes said.

“We’ve seen a pattern with other actors of thugs for hire, people taking cash that looks like quick and easy money,” Jukes said.

“This is part of the modern hybrid war fought by proxies,” he added.

In the most recent incident, a bottle containing a flammable liquid was thrown through the window of the Harrow synagogue on Saturday night, causing smoke damage, police said.