Sawt Falasteen - Two dead, four wounded in UK synagogue 'terrorist attack'

Two other people were arrested after the car and stabbing attack which occurred as Jewish communities around the world mark the Yom Kippur holiday, the holiest in the Jewish calendar.

Police said the two dead victims were Jewish, and declared the attack a "terrorist incident" in the northwest English city.

They revealed they had "established the identity" of the dead suspect, but it was too soon to release it publicly.

The attack also came days ahead of the second anniversary of Hamas's October 7, 2023 raids on Israel which sparked a fierce offensive in Gaza, inflaming passions in Britain.

"It's a very sad day. I live here for like seven years I've seen nothing but kindness and love from the Jewish community. Very, very good people," said engineer Sam Martin, 41.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer swiftly condemned the event as "horrific", and announced security was being boosted at UK synagogues.

He left a European political summit in Denmark early to chair an emergency security meeting in London.

"The fact that this has taken place on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar, makes it all the more horrific," the UK leader added.

King Charles III said he and Queen Camilla were "deeply shocked and saddened" by the attack.

- Counter-terror probe -

Greater Manchester Police (GMP) said it responded to calls shortly after 9:30 am (0830 GMT) about a car driving into people outside the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue.

Reports also came in that a security guard had been attacked with a knife.

GMP chief constable Stephen Watson confirmed mid-afternoon that "two members of our Jewish community have sadly died" while officers had shot dead the attacker within seven minutes of the first emergency call.

Four other people remained in hospital with "serious injuries," he said, confirming a car "was driven directly at members of the public".

"The driver of the car was seen then to attack people with a knife" and he was wearing a vest which looked like an explosive device.

Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor, head of counter-terrorism policing at London's Metropolitan Police, confirmed the attack had been declared a "terrorist incident".

"We will ensure every piece of intelligence and line of inquiry is interrogated," he vowed.

- 'Deeply distressing' -

A witness told BBC Radio he saw police shooting a man after a car crash.

"They give him a couple of warnings, he didn't listen until they opened fire," the witness said.

"He went down on the floor, and then he started getting back up, and then they shot him again."

Police said "a large number of people worshipping at the synagogue" had been stuck inside until the area was made safe.

French President Emmanuel Macron and EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas were among world leaders to condemn the attack, with France's leader saying "the fight against antisemitism is our fight, and we will pursue it tirelessly."

Israel's embassy in the UK said it was "abhorrent and deeply distressing" that "such an act of violence should be perpetrated on the holiest day of the Jewish calendar".

- 'No words' -

Manchester, famous around the world for its two Premier League football clubs and industrial history, is home to one of the largest Jewish communities in the UK.

It totalled more than 28,000 in 2021, according to the Institute for Jewish Policy Research.

MP Graham Stringer said the area was home to both large Jewish and Muslim communities.

"By and large community relations are excellent between all the different ethnic groups and religious groups," he told BBC radio Manchester.

The synagogue sits among quiet residential streets, with dozens of locals lining the police cordons Thursday.

X.Habash--SF-PST