British police: The synagogue attacker declared his allegiance to ISIS

The man who attacked A synagogue in northern England last week led to the killing of two Jewish worshipers who phoned police to say they worked for the Islamic State group, investigators said on Wednesday.

Jehad Al-Shami, 35, a British citizen of Syrian origin, then made the call Driving a car over pedestrians Police attacked people with a knife at Heaton Park Hebrew Synagogue in the Crumpsall area of ​​Manchester, police said.

Armed officers shot Al-Shami, who was armed with two knives and appeared to be wearing an explosive belt, at the scene. Police later said that one of the two victims killed in the attack also died after being attacked He was shot by police.

Rob Potts, Assistant Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police, said that minutes after officers were first alerted to the incident, Al-Shami himself called 999 to claim responsibility for the attack.

“He has also pledged allegiance to ISIS,” Potts said in a televised statement.

Last Thursday’s attack, in which Adrian Dolby (53 years old) and Melvin Kravitz (66 years old) were killed, occurred during Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar. Three other men remain in hospital with serious injuries.

The attacker was not previously known to counter-terrorism police and was never referred to the country’s counter-extremism programme, Prevent. However, police say he had a criminal history and was recently arrested for rape before being released on bail.

“At this stage of our investigation, we are more confident that he was influenced by extremist Islamic ideology, and calling 999 forms part of that assessment,” Potts said.

He added: “It is important to stress that we are looking at all the evidence collected to conduct our assessment of the motive behind this attack. This assessment is ongoing and there may be more motivations and motives identified.”

Officers arrested six people following the incident, but all were released without charges. Two of them were released on Saturday, and the remaining four will be released on Wednesday.

He added: “This does not mean that our investigation is over.”

Al-Shami’s family said in a statement on Facebook that they were in “deep shock” and wanted to distance themselves from what they called his “heinous act.”

Britain, like other European countries and the United States, has recorded a sharp rise in anti-Semitic incidents over the past two years since the start of the Israeli war on Gaza.

Last year was the second-worst year on record for such incidents, only to be surpassed by 2023, according to the Community Security Trust, which provides security for Jewish organizations across Britain. More than 3,500 incidents were recorded in 2024.