Police investigating an arson attack on volunteer-led ambulances run by the Jewish community in Golders Green have arrested two men in connection with the incident.
The men, aged 47 and aged 45, were arrested on Wednesday morning at addresses in north-west London and central London areas, respectively.
They were arrested on suspicion of arson with intent to endanger life and have both been taken to a London police station, where they remain in custody. Officers are carrying out searches at the two addresses.
The arrests are linked to the continuing investigation by counter-terrorism detectives into an arson attack on volunteer-led ambulance services run by the Jewish community in Golders Green.
The attack took place at about 1:35am, destroying ambulances from Hatzola, the community-focused ambulance service.
Commander Helen Flanagan, head of Counter Terrorism Policing London, which is leading the investigation said: “We have been working around the clock since this appalling attack took place and this has led to these arrests being made this morning.
“This appears to be an important breakthrough in the investigation, but we’re also mindful that CCTV footage of the incident suggests there were at least three people involved.
“We fully recognise the local community will still be concerned and our investigation very much remains active and we will continue to work to identify and seek to arrest all of those who may have been involved.
“I’d like to thank the public and particularly the local Jewish community in the area for their continued support and reiterate our appeal to anyone who might have information that could assist with the investigation to get in touch with us.”
Police said they received reports of explosions linked to gas canisters on the ambulances early on Monday. No one was injured and the fires in the car park next to Machzike Hadath Synagogue on Highfield Road, Golders Green, were put out. Residents were asked to leave nearby houses and roads in the area were closed.
Golders Green has a large Jewish community, with more than 30 synagogues.
Responsibility for the attacks has been claimed by a new group calling itself Harakat Ashab Al Yamin Al Islamia, or Ashab Al Yamin, which translates to the Islamic Movement of the Companions of the Right.
The social media activity was directed through channels linked to Iraqi Shiite militia groups that are aligned to Iran and its Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC).
One of the channels has now claimed Ashab Al Yamin is behind the arson and posted a message with the group's logo.
An unverified video posted at 6.13am on Monday on its Telegram channel showed street view Google Maps images of the ambulances and footage of explosions.
At the start of the video posted on Telegram, a message in English said the group’s primary target was the Machzike Hadath Synagogue due to its links to Israel.
