Tuesday, April 21, 2026 - Two teenagers have been arrested in connection with an arson attack on a synagogue in north London, police have confirmed.
A 17-year-old boy and a 19-year-old man were taken into
custody overnight following the incident at Kenton United Synagogue in Harrow
over the weekend.
Officers said a bottle containing an accelerant was thrown
through a window of the building. The synagogue’s rabbi reported that the
medical room sustained significant damage.
Police forensic teams were seen working at the scene as
investigations continued.
Deputy Commissioner Matt Jukes confirmed the arrests, stating
that authorities have now made 15 arrests in recent weeks linked to a series of
six incidents targeting Jewish premises, a Jewish-led ambulance service, and a
Persian media organization.
He also revealed that bins outside a nearby communal block
were targeted on the same evening.
The attack follows other suspected arson incidents, including
one at a Jewish charity in Hendon and another where a synagogue in Finchley was
hit with petrol bombs.
Authorities believe some of the recent attacks may be
connected, with Deputy Assistant Commissioner Vicki Evans noting that several
incidents have been claimed online by a group known as Ashab al-Yamin, which
has been publicly linked to Iran.
Jukes described the possibility of Iranian-backed involvement
as a serious line of inquiry, adding that such acts may be part of a broader
pattern involving individuals being recruited with financial incentives.
He pointed to previous cases where individuals acted on
behalf of foreign groups, describing the situation as part of a modern form of
hybrid warfare carried out through proxies.
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