LONDON — Authorities in London have taken two teenagers into custody following a weekend firebombing at a synagogue, as Jewish community leaders voice growing alarm over a series of recent attacks targeting their institutions.
London Metropolitan Police Deputy Commissioner Matt Jukes announced Monday that officers apprehended the suspects, ages 19 and 17, during overnight operations related to the attack on Kenton United Synagogue in Harrow. According to Jukes, who spoke with the BBC, police have now made 15 arrests connected to six separate attacks on Jewish facilities and one Persian-language media outlet that have occurred in recent weeks.
Investigators are pursuing what Jukes described as a “serious line of inquiry” suggesting Iran may be paying local criminals to execute these attacks as Middle East tensions escalate, including the ongoing U.S.-Israeli conflict with the Islamic Republic.
“We’ve seen a pattern with other actors of thugs for hire, people taking cash that looks like quick and easy money,” Jukes stated.
“This is part of the modern hybrid war fought by proxies,” he continued.
The latest attack occurred Saturday evening when someone hurled a bottle filled with flammable liquid through a window at the Harrow synagogue, resulting in smoke damage throughout the building, according to police reports.
