Two men arrested in connection with a suspected arson attack on four ambulances operated by a Jewish charity in north London have been released on bail.
The men, aged 47 and 45, who are both UK nationals, were arrested on Wednesday on suspicion of arson with intent to endanger life after the incident in Golders Green. On Thursday the Metropolitan police said the pair had been bailed until April while the investigation continues.
The force said searches had been carried out at addresses in the Kilburn and Kings Cross areas of London, where the men had been arrested. Further searches had also taken place at two other addresses in north-west London, the Met added.
Cdr Helen Flanagan, the Met’s head of counter-terrorism policing, which is leading the investigation, said: “Although the two men have been released from police custody, there are strict bail conditions in place while we continue to investigate their suspected involvement in this incident.
“I can reassure the public that we will be closely monitoring these while we carry out further inquiries. We continue to work to try and identify all of those involved in this appalling attack and the investigation team is working around the clock to do this.
“I’d like to thank the public and particularly the local Jewish community in the area for their continued support, and reiterate our appeal to anyone who might have information that could assist with the investigation to get in touch with us.”
Officers were called to Highfield Road in Golders Green at about 1.45am on Monday after receiving reports of ambulances on fire near the Machzike Hadath synagogue.
The attacked vehicles were run by Hatzola Northwest, a Jewish charity established in 1979 and run by volunteers to provide free medical transportation and emergency response to Jewish and non-Jewish people in north London.
The Met previously said the incident was being treated as an antisemitic hate crime.
Earlier Flanagan had said the Met was “mindful that CCTV footage of the incident suggests there were at least three people involved”.
She said: “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.”
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