Police investigating after ‘discarded items’ found near Israeli embassy
Police are investigating whether items found near the Israeli embassy in central London are connected to a video posted by an Iran-linked Islamist group claiming it was going to be attacked.
The Metropolitan Police said officers were assessing “a number of discarded items” in Kensington Gardens, and urged people to avoid the area. A video, which appears to have been shared by the group Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia, shows a target over an image of the Israeli embassy and people dressed in hazmat suits flying drones. Police insisted the embassy had not been attacked, but said detectives were carrying out inquiries to determine the authenticity of the video and to identify any potential link between it and the items. “A suspected security incident is being investigated in the park adjacent to the Embassy of Israel in London,” the embassy said in a statement. “We wish to clarify that all embassy staff are safe and that the embassy was not attacked.” It comes after Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia also claimed responsibility for three arson attacks in north London. A teenage boy and two men were arrested after the latest attack at the offices of a Persian media organisation in Wembley. Police are not linking the attack to an attempted arson at a synagogue in Finchley earlier this week, or the torching of Jewish community ambulances in Golders Green last month. A van belonging to the Metropolitan Police’s chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear team was near the bandstand in Kensington Gardens on Friday, around 500m away from the embassy. A fire investigation unit from London Fire Brigade and London Ambulance Service’s hazardous area response team were also present at the scene. Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia, which has claimed other attacks across Europe since the war in Iran broke out, posted videos on Telegram on Wednesday about the UK incidents, according to terror group monitor Site Intelligence. Julian Lanches, from the International Centre for Counter-Terrorism, told the Financial Times the group was “unusual”. The think tank’s analysis showed the group had “no known references, neither online nor offline” before March 9. The group’s sudden appearance meant “there are considerable doubts that they are a genuine, serious terror group with offline or internal structures”, Mr Lanches said. A Met spokesperson said: “We do not believe there to be any increased public safety risk at this stage, but we would urge people to avoid the area while officers carry out their work.” Shadow home secretary Chris Philp called on the Government to set out what steps are being taken to protect the embassy. “The relentless intimidation of the Jewish community and attacks on Jewish institutions have absolutely no place in this country,” he said.
Published: by Radio NewsHub