United Kingdom arrests 8 people on suspicion of causing fires and planning an attack on a site linked to the Jewish community

British anti-terrorism police said on Tuesday (21) that they had arrested eight people in an investigation into a series of arson attacks in London, including a plan that targeted a site linked to the Jewish community. Seven of the arrests were made in the last 48 hours, police said. The arrests come as British police investigate a series of attacks on sites associated with Jews in the capital, part of an increase in threats and criminal activity since the start of the war between Israel and Gaza in October 2023. UK security officials have warned that Iran has been trying to use intermediaries for hostile activities in the country. The pro-Iran group Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiyya claimed responsibility for some attacks. Police have not linked the group to the recent arrests. Arrested and history of attacks In the most recent operations, police said investigators arrested three men aged 24, 25 and 26 in Harpenden, north London, on Sunday night. They were released after posting bail. On Monday, a 25-year-old man was arrested in Stevenage, also in the north of the city. Another 26-year-old man and two women, aged 50 and 59, were arrested in a vehicle near the city of Birmingham and taken to a police station in London, where they remained in custody. On Tuesday morning, officers arrested a 39-year-old man at an address in west London under the UK Terrorism Act 2000. Police officers patrol a cordon near Kenton United Synagogue in Harrow, a London suburb Jamie Lashmar/PA via AP Police said the arrest was linked to an investigation after vials of a substance were found in Kensington Gardens in central London last week. A 17-year-old British teenager pleaded guilty on Tuesday to arson after an attack on a synagogue in north London over the weekend, the BBC reported. The fire left no injuries. Last month, the United Kingdom recorded an attack on ambulances belonging to a Jewish charity. Since then, anti-terrorism police said they have arrested 23 people.

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