The man who attacked a Manchester synagogue pledged allegiance to Islamic State in a phone call to police during the incident, British counter terror police say.
Jihad Al-Shamie, 35, was shot dead by police last Thursday outside the Heaton Park Congregation Synagogue in Manchester, after he rammed a car into pedestrians, attacked them with a knife and tried to force his way into the building.
Congregation members Melvin Cravitz, 66, and Adrian Daulby, 53, died in the attack which took place on Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish year.
Mr Daulby was accidentally shot by officers attending the incident.
A spokesperson for Counter Terror Police North West, which serves the region of England, said that he made a call to police as he attacked.
"In the initial stages of the attack outside the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue, a call was made by the attacker to police claiming to pledge allegiance to the so-called Islamic State," the spokesperson said on Wednesday, UK time.
Investigators had previously said that that Al-Shamie may have been influenced "by "extreme Islamist ideology".
He was on bail over an alleged rape at the time of the attack, but had not been charged.
The attack on the synagogue was one of the worst antisemitic incidents in Europe since the October 7, 2023, attack in Israel, which was led by Palestinian Islamist militant group Hamas.
Four people, two men and two women, remain in custody for questioning after the attack by Al-Shamie, a UK citizen of Syrian descent.
The Gaza conflict has prompted frequent pro-Palestinian rallies in British cities, which some politicians and critics allege have stoked antisemitism.
Police have acknowledged that they likely shot two people during its operation to halt the attack, one of whom died and one who received serious injuries.
A UK police watchdog is probing the police shooting of Al-Shamie, as well as Mr Daulby's death.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said there was no evidence anyone other than police used firearms at the scene.
The investigation "will include whether police may have caused or contributed to the death of the man later found to have suffered the fatal gunshot wound," it said last week.
ABC/wires
