Three more men arrested in London arson of ambulances owned by Jewish emergency service

JTA -Three more men have been arrested in London in connection with a series of fires on ambulances owned by the Jewish emergency service corps Hatzola, according to London’s Metropolitan Police Service.

Two British men, ages 20 and 19, and a 17-year-old dual British and Pakistani citizen were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit arson. The men were arrested at three different addresses, which were being searched, the police said.

The arrests follow those of two British men, ages 45 and 47, in connection with the arson. Those two suspects were released on bail and are being closely monitored while they await a hearing, police said, and their identities have not been made public.

The ambulance arson, which occurred in London’s Jewish neighbourhood of Golders Green, is being treated by law enforcement as an antisemitic crime, but authorities have not labelled it as terrorism, even as the Metropolitan Police’s counter-terrorism unit is leading the investigation.

“Since this appalling attack, we have been working continuously to investigate and identify those responsible,” the unit’s commander, Helen Flanagan, said in a statement. “We know concern among the Jewish community remains high, but I hope these arrests show that we are doing everything we can to bring those responsible to justice.”

A group called Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya, or the Islamic Movement of the People of the Right Hand, has claimed responsibility for the attack.

French authorities announced on Wednesday, 1 April they suspect that the same group is behind an attempted bomb on Saturday on a Bank of America building in Paris. The group has claimed responsibility for a number of attacks throughout Europe in recent weeks, all of them up to now on Jewish institutions. Security analysts know little about the group, which was unheard of until earlylondon March, but say it may be tied to pro-Iranian cells based in Europe.

The London ambulance arson has given rise to a new set of antisemitic conspiracy theories. The mayor of Bath, England, has resigned from his position after drawing criticism for sharing social media posts amplifying claims that the ambulance fires were a “false flag” attack staged by Jews or Israelis.

Police in London said they would deploy drones to monitor security in Jewish neighbourhoods during the Passover holiday, with concerns about additional attacks running high.