Mystery veils ‘terror group’ claiming ambulance attack

On 9 March, a post on the social media network Telegram, reportedly from a group called Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya (HAYI), announced the beginning of “military operations” against US and Israeli interests.

- HOLLY BANCROFT HOME AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT

Then, on Monday, a Telegram channel purporting to represent the group - whose name translates as the Islamic Movement of the Companions of the Right - made an unsubstantiated claim of responsibility for an arson attack on four Jewish ambulances in Golders Green, northwest London.

By yesterday, the channel - which had less than 200 subscribers - had been deleted. The origins of the group remain unclear, although experts have said that their branding is similar to that of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and its broader network.

Before the Telegram channel disappeared late on Monday night, it had posted videos of four other arson attacks around Europe - and shared information about an attack in the Czech Republic attributed to another group called the Earthquake Faction.

Some of the videos had been circulating in channels affiliated with Iraqi pro-Iranian militia beforehand, according to a digital analysis by researchers at the International Centre for Counter-Terrorism. One of the claimed attacks - against an unspecified site in Greece on 11 March - is likely to be disinformation, researchers believe.

While security sources recognise HAYI’s modus operandi, they do not recognise their name and cautioned against a rush to attribute the Golders Green attack. The Metropolitan Police have said that they are working to authenticate the claim of responsibility made by HAYI. It has not so far been designated as a terrorist incident.

In CCTV footage of the attack in London, three individuals can be seen setting light to an ambulance in the early hours of Monday morning. The ambulances were run by Jewish charity Hatzola and were parked in the car park of the Machzike Hadath Synagogue.