U.K. police investigate another arson attack in north London

Another suspected arson attack has taken place in the Golders Green area of north London, British police said Tuesday.

The attack targeted a memorial wall that has displayed photos of people killed by the Iranian regime. Police say it was not damaged.

The Metropolitan police said the incident took place in the early hours of Monday morning and that they were not treating it as terror-related, although counter-terror police were leading the investigation.

It is unclear who was behind the attack, and no group has claimed responsibility for it. No one has been arrested and “officers are keeping an open mind about the motive behind the attack,” police said in a statement.

The wall stands across the road from a Jewish care home for the elderly.

Another attack took place last month in the same area when vehicles belonging to a Jewish ambulance service were set on fire.

The Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia group – The Islamic Movement of the Companions of the Righteous – claimed responsibility for that incident and a series of recent attacks targeting Jewish institutions across Europe. A group representative told CBS News in March: “We’ll keep threatening U.S. and Israeli interests worldwide until we’ve avenged every child in Gaza, Iran, Lebanon, and the resistance nations.”

The head of policing in northwest London said Tuesday about the latest attack, “We recognize that this incident will heighten concerns in the Golders Green area, where residents have already faced a series of attacks.”

“Since last month’s attack in Golders Green, we have stepped up our work to reassure communities,” he said. “This includes armed police patrols as well as deployments of officers from Project Servator, who are specially trained to spot anyone who may be planning or preparing to commit criminal acts.”

The Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia group has also claimed it was behind other incidents across London recently, including an attempted arson attack at the offices of a Persian-language media outlet in northwest London on April 15, and an arson attack on a synagogue in Kenton, in northwest London, on April 19. A 17-year-old pled guilty in the synagogue incident.

The Community Security Trust recorded 3,700 antisemitic incidents in the United Kingdom in 2025, the second-highest total ever reported to the organization.

The Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia group has also claimed it was behind other incidents across London recently, including an attempted arson attack at the offices of a Persian-language media outlet in northwest London on April 15, and an arson attack on a synagogue in Kenton, in northwest London, on April 19. A 17-year-old pled guilty in the synagogue incident.