Four mosques attacked in Birmingham, UK police ‘treating incidents as linked’
London: Four mosques in the central English city of Birmingham have been attacked overnight, with a man wielding a sledgehammer seen smashing windows at two places of worship, the police said on Thursday.
Counter-terrorism officers are investigating attacks on the mosques in four different areas in the north of the city, West Midlands Police said in a statement.
The force added the incidents “are being treated as linked”.
“At the moment we don’t know the motive for last night’s attacks,” said Chief Constable Dave Thompson in a statement.
“What I can say is that the force and the counter terrorism unit are working side-by-side to find whoever is responsible.”
Officers were first alerted in the early hours of Thursday to reports of a man smashing windows with a sledgehammer at one of the places of worship, police said.
Following reports of a similar attack at another mosque in a nearby neighbourhood, officers launched targeted patrols and discovered “further damage” at two other sites.
“Forensic officers are working to identify evidence, and CCTV is being examined,” the West Midlands force added.
British national police chiefs last week announced officers were providing “reassurance patrols” around mosques in the immediate aftermath of Friday’s deadly gun rampage in New Zealand.
Anti-racism groups have warned Islamophobia is on the rise in Britain and spurring a spike in far-right activity in the country.
A report released last month by the Hope Not Hate charity cited a poll which found more than a third of Britons see Islam as “generally a threat to the British way of life”.
In another recent incident, Mohammed Mahmoud -- an imam who won praise for shielding the perpetrator of a 2017 deadly terror attack against a north London mosque reported he was spat at and abused this week.
Mahmoud said he was targeted Monday while returning home from a solidarity event for the New Zealand massacre with other religious leaders, as well as interior minister Sajid Javid and London Mayor Sadiq Khan.
Courtesy: www.hindustantimes.com
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Kalaburagi Jail Chief Superintendent gets threat
Kalaburagi (Karnataka), Nov 28: Kalaburagi Jail Chief Superintendent R Anitha on Thursday said that an unknown person sent an audio message via a police inspector claiming that they will blow up her car.
However, police said they have not received any complaints in this regard.
Speaking to reporters here, Anitha said, "Somebody has sent an audio message to the police inspector saying that they will blow up my car. I personally did not receive any such message so far, so I would not be lodging any police complaint."
Following the alleged threat, Anitha said she would be more cautious now.
Last month, after Anitha took charge as the Chief Superintendent of Jail, raids were conducted and searches were intensified after photographs and video clips purportedly showing three inmates getting special treatment in the Kalaburagi Central prison went viral on social media.
Following the raids, cell phones, gutka and cigarette packets and beedis were seized from the inmates.
