Two teenagers arrested over arson att@ck on north London synagogue

Two teenagers have been arrested in connection with an arson attack on a synagogue in north London, police have confirmed.
 

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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 organisation.
 

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.