A UK mosque was set ablaze with two people still inside in a suspected arson attack that police are treating as a hate crime.
It is the latest violent incident to be reported in a politically charged British summer, during which incidents of Islamophobic and antisemitic hate have remained high, and comes just days after a deadly attack outside a synagogue in Manchester.
Two people in balaclavas tried to force the mosque’s door open on Saturday night before pouring gasoline onto the steps and setting it alight, a voluntary mosque manager who asked not to be named told CNN.
Emergency crews rushed to the mosque in Peacehaven, near Brighton on the country’s south coast, shortly before 10 p.m. local time.
The mosque’s chairman and a fellow worshipper, both in their 60s, were having tea inside when they heard a loud bang outside and fled the building as flames curled across the main entrance, according to the mosque manager.
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