UK police say they have thwarted plot to attack Jewish community

British counter-terrorism police said on Tuesday that they had arrested two people as part of an investigation into a suspected terrorist plot to target the Jewish community in northern England.

Police said the two men, aged in their 30s, were held in central Manchester on Sunday with searches also carried out in Salford and Liverpool.

“This has been a long-running proactive investigation which has led to the disruption of what we believe to be a plot to target the Jewish community in the Manchester area,” Vicki Evans, senior national co-ordinator for counterterrorism policing, said in a statement.

She said detectives did not believe there was any ongoing threat, but police in Manchester said they had stepped up a policing operation during upcoming Jewish high holy days.

Last year two Jewish worshippers were killed in an attack on a synagogue in Manchester committed by a British citizen of Syrian descent who had said he was acting for the Islamic State.

“We are acutely aware this news will cause further concern to the Jewish community, as well as the wider public, especially given the significant high holy day period,” Evans said.

“I want to reassure them we are working incredibly closely with colleagues in the Greater Manchester Police and partners to ensure we’re doing everything we can to keep them and the wider public safe.”