London attempted arson investigated amid attacks on Jewish and Iranian premises

British counterterrorism officers were investigating a failed arson attempt in London. The case was part of several recent fires and attempted fires. The targets included Jewish and Iranian-linked premises across northwest London. Police said no one was hurt in any incident. No arrests were reported for the latest attempted attack.

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The Metropolitan Police said the latest case was not being connected to other recent attacks. Investigators said they were also not treating the incidents as terrorism. Even so, Counter Terrorism Policing London was leading the work. Police cited similarities across the attacks as the reason for that decision.

Counter Terrorism Policing London probe into attempted arson

Police said the most recent incident happened on Friday night in Hendon. Officers said a man was seen leaving a bag outside a building. The site was previously used by the Jewish community. The bag held three bottles of fluid, police said. The man tried to light them, but the fire did not fully catch.

Police said the suspect then ran away from the scene. Detectives said there have been no arrests linked to Friday’s incident. The Hendon location is near Golders Green, police said. That area saw another arson case on March 23. In that earlier incident, four ambulances of a Jewish charity were set on fire.

Metropolitan Police link checks after Jewish charity ambulances attack

Four people have been charged over the March 23 ambulance fire, police said. Officers were also looking into another attempted arson in northwest London. Police said a synagogue was targeted on Wednesday. That case remained under investigation, alongside other recent attacks in nearby areas.

On the same Wednesday, police said another fire incident hit Wembley in northwest London. Police said an "ignited container\" was thrown into the premises of a Persian-language media organisation. Two men and a teenage boy have been charged with arson, police said. No injuries were reported in that incident either.

Iran line of inquiry in Counter Terrorism Policing London investigations

Police said one possible line of inquiry was whether Iran was linked to the incidents. The UK has accused Iran of using criminal proxies in Europe. The alleged targets included opposition media outlets and the Jewish community. Britain’s MI5 domestic intelligence service said more than 20 potentially lethal Iran-backed plots were disrupted in the year to October.

Police continued to examine each case and compare details across the incidents. Investigators said they were not currently treating the events as terror attacks. Police also said Friday’s attempted arson was not being tied to earlier cases at this stage. No one has been injured, and several suspects faced charges in other incidents.

With inputs from PTI