The United Kingdom police have officially classified the car-and-knife attack at a Manchester synagogue on Yom Kippur as a terrorist incident.
“Based on the information available, counter-terrorism police have declared this a terrorist incident,” said Laurence Taylor, Assistant Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police and national head of counter-terrorism policing, during a press briefing, according to The Associated Press.
The Metropolitan Police Counter-Terrorism Command confirmed that two individuals have been arrested in connection with the attack.
The incident, initially treated as a “major incident” by Greater Manchester Police, took place at the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue in the Crumpsall area of northern Manchester.
The assailant drove a vehicle into pedestrians and stabbed multiple people before being shot dead by responding officers.
The attack claimed two lives, while three others remain in serious condition, including a security guard assaulted outside the synagogue.
Authorities activated Operation Plato, an emergency protocol designed to address suspected “marauding terrorist attacks.”
Social media images showed a man with items strapped to his waist, raising concerns of explosives, prompting the deployment of a bomb disposal unit as a precaution.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who cut short his visit to the European Political Community summit in Denmark, convened an emergency security meeting in London.
He expressed that he was “appalled” and “absolutely shocked” by the attack and vowed to “do everything” to protect the UK’s Jewish community.
The assault comes just ahead of the second anniversary of the Israel-Hamas war, which began on October 7, 2023, with coordinated attacks by Hamas in Israel, leading to a continuing military campaign in Gaza.
Recent international developments, including recognition of a Palestinian state by countries such as the UK, Australia, Canada, France, and Belgium, have heightened tensions with Israel.
In May, two staff members of the Israeli embassy, a couple, were killed in a shooting outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington DC.
