British police are questioning six suspects over a deadly car-ramming and knife attack on a Manchester synagogue that killed two people on Yom Kippur, as Prime Minister Keir Starmer urged people not to take part in pro-Palestinian protests.
Two people were killed and three others seriously wounded in Thursday's attack in northwestern Manchester on Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish calendar.
Police shot dead assailant Jihad Al-Shamie, a 35-year-old UK citizen of Syrian descent, within minutes of the alarm being raised.
Three men and three women are in custody.
The attack has heightened fear among Britain's Jewish community.
Police said they were patrolling places of worship across the city "with a particular focus on providing a high-visibility presence within our Jewish communities".
The attack on Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue in north Manchester was one of the worst antisemitic incidents in Europe since the Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Hamas on Israel that killed 1,219 people.
Israel's genocidal war on the Gaza Strip in response has killed at least 67,000 Palestinians, created a catastrophic famine, destroyed 80% of the enclave. Israel faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on Gaza.
The Gaza war has inflamed passions in Britain, with frequent pro-Palestinian rallies in cities that some critics allege have stoked antisemitism.
A "global movement for Gaza UK" protest went ahead in London late on Thursday, with police making 40 arrests.
London's Metropolitan Police asked organizers delay another planned demonstration backing the banned Palestine Action group later on Saturday.
However organizers Defend Our Juries rejected the calls.
A spokesman said the group "stood in solidarity" with the Jewish community over the attack.
Starmer urged protesters not to join the pro-Palestinian rally.
"I urge anyone thinking about protesting this weekend to recognize and respect the grief of British Jews. This is a moment of mourning. It is not a time to stoke tension and cause further pain," he said on X.
During the attack, Shamie was seen "with a big knife, banging his knife into the glass, trying to get through", synagogue chairman of trustees Alan Levy, who helped barricade the doors, told ITV news.
"The heroes of the congregation who saw what was happening then came to the doors because he was trying to break the doors down to get in," he added.
A UK police watchdog, meanwhile, said it would look at the police shooting of Shamie.
The probe would also look at the shooting of a second victim who suffered a fatal gunshot and a third person who was shot but survived.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said there was no evidence anyone other than police used firearms at the scene.
"Our independent investigation will look at circumstances surrounding the fatal police shooting of Jihad Al-Shamie," it said in a statement.
"A post mortem has today (Friday) concluded another man who died at the scene suffered a fatal gunshot wound."
IOPC investigations are standard practice in situations where use of force by police may have resulted in the death of a member of the public.
