London police arrest seven for plotting attack on Jewish community

London police have arrested seven suspects for planning an attack on the Jewish community.

Police said today that they were arrested over the past two days and that the arrests are part of an investigation into a plot to set fires at sites associated with the Jewish community.

At this time, the exact targets of the planned attacks are unknown.

Counter-Terrorism Unit detectives arrested three men, aged 24, 25 and 26, on Sunday 19 April, who were later released on bail.

On Monday, April 20, two men, ages 25 and 26, and two women, ages 50 and 59, were arrested.

They were all taken to a police station in London where they are being held in custody.

Since the attack on the ambulances of the Jewish Volunteer Ambulance Service on March 23, London police have arrested a total of 23 people.

Eight people have been charged with arson-related offences, while 13 people remain in custody, or are on bail, as part of an ongoing police investigation, London police said.

Police said on Monday they had arrested two teenagers in connection with the arson attack at a synagogue in northwest London last weekend.

"Our message is clear, we will not tolerate this intimidation of our communities and we will prosecute those responsible. One of our key lines of inquiry is whether criminal intermediaries, that is, people who are paid to commit a crime, are being used to commit any of the arson attacks," said National Counter-Terrorism Coordinator Vicki Evans.