12 hours ago
14
PA Media
The burnt out remains of Hatzola ambulances at the Jewish Community Ambulance service in Golders Green
Two men have been arrested on suspicion of arson with intent to endanger life after four Jewish charity-owned ambulances were set on fire in north London.
Four Hatzola ambulances were set ablaze in Golders Green, London, in the early hours of Monday, leading to an investigation led by the Met's counter-terror officers.
One man, 47, was arrested by the Metropolitan Police in north-west London and a second, aged 45, was arrested in central London on Wednesday morning.
Commander Helen Flanagan, head of counter terrorism policing London, described the arrests as an "important breakthrough" but said the force was aware of CCTV footage which "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," she added.
The Met previously said the investigation was looking at an Islamist group with potential links to Iran.
Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya - The Islamic Movement of the People of the Right Hand - made an unsubstantiated claim of responsibility for the attack, which is being treated as an antisemitic hate crime.
The group has claimed responsibility for a number of similar arson incidents across Europe.
Det Ch Supt Luke Williams outlined additional security measures which have been put in place, which include police officers being deployed to protect certain locations, alongside "additional highly visible armed police patrols".
He added that these measures are precautionary and not in response to any specific threat.
Officers are carrying out searches at the two London addresses where the men were arrested.
Four replacement ambulances, provided by the government, arrived at Hatzola on Tuesday.
