Counterterror police probing arson attack on London shop in Jewish area

LONDON — UK counterterror officers are investigating an arson attack on a shop in an area of London with a large Jewish population, police say, following similar incidents in recent weeks.

No one was injured in the fire late yesterday in Hendon, in the northwest of Britain’s capital, London’s Metropolitan Police say in a statement, without specifying the business targeted.

It comes after police arrested two people over a separate arson attack on a synagogue in nearby Finchley on Wednesday, amid an upsurge in antisemitic incidents in Britain.

In late March, four Jewish community ambulances were torched in Golders Green, also in north London.

“At this stage last night’s arson is not being linked to other incidents in the north-west London area over the last week or last month’s arson in Golders Green, but counter-terrorism officers are leading due to the similarities of each attack,” Helen Flanagan of the Met’s counter terrorism unit says in a statement.

Police were called to the scene shortly after 10:30 p.m. (2130 GMT) yesterday after a man was spotted approaching a row of shops carrying a plastic bag later found to contain three bottles containing “fluid,” the Met said.

He placed the bag by a building before lighting the items inside, it adds.

When they failed to fully ignite, the man fled the scene. The shopfront sustained minor damage, and no arrests have been made, the force adds.