A timeline of arson attacks against Jewish sites in London
Counter-terrorism police are investigating whether a series of arson attacks on Jewish sites in north London were carried out by Iranian proxies.
The Metropolitan Police deputy commissioner said facilities linked to people opposing the Iranian regime were also targeted.
Many of these were requested online by Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia, the Islamic Movement of the Right Companions, said Vicki Evans, the agency’s deputy commissioner.
Here is how the Press Association looks at the attacks in the last month:
– March 23
Four Jewish community ambulances were set on fire in Golders Green, north-west London, in the early hours of the morning.
The vehicles belonged to Hatzola, a volunteer-led ambulance service operating in the area, and investigators investigated allegations that Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia was behind the attack.
A video was published on Telegram containing a map of where the ambulances were kept and footage of them burning.
– April 15
The arson attacks were carried out in the early hours of the Finchley Reform Synagogue in north-west London and outside the offices of an Iranian media company at around 8.30pm.
Bottles thought to contain petrol were placed near the synagogue on Fallow Court Avenue in Finchley.
The Metropolitan Police said two men wearing dark clothing and balaclavas approached the building and none of the bottles were fired.
They fled the scene without any damage or injuries reported, the statement added.
Hours later, a “fiery container” was thrown at the location of Volant Media, the parent company of Persian-language news channel Iran International.
It landed in a parking lot where the fire was extinguished immediately.
Police said there were no injuries and the suspects left the area in a black four-wheel-drive vehicle.
– April 18
The items are found near the Israeli embassy in central London in the morning, and a former Jewish charity building in Hendon, Barnet is attacked that night.
Police said a man carrying a plastic bag containing three bottles of liquid was later seen approaching the row of shops.
Police added that after placing the bag near the old Jewish Futures building, he burned the items inside and fled when it failed to fully ignite.
While there were no injuries in the incident, minor damage occurred to the front of the store.
The video, apparently shared by Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia, shows a target over the image of the Israeli embassy and people wearing hazmat suits flying a drone.
Another visible clip of Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia claimed the Hendon attack.
– April 19
The Metropolitan Police said a “bottle containing some type of accelerant was thrown through the window” of Kenton United Synagogue in Harrow.
Around midnight, smoke was visible from a room in the synagogue after officers discovered damage to a window.
The video, apparently from Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia, shows a man in dark clothing burning an object, throwing it into the synagogue and running away.
