Two killed, three injured in stabbing and car ramming outside synagogue in UK’s Manchester

Bomb disposal team at Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation synagogue, Manchester, following Thursday`s attack. PIC/AFP

At least two people were killed and three others seriously injured in a combined car ramming and stabbing attack outside a synagogue in Manchester, northern England, on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar, news agency ANI reported, citing CNN.

The incident took place in Crumpsall, north of the city, when a car was deliberately driven at members of the public and a man was stabbed. Greater Manchester Police said the suspected attacker is believed to have died after being shot by armed officers.

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"Police were called to the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue, on Middleton Road, Crumpsall, at 9.31am by a member of the public, stating he had witnessed a car being driven towards members of the public, and one man had been stabbed," the police said in a statement, according to ANI.

Paramedics arrived soon after, and worshippers inside the synagogue at the time were safely evacuated, CNN reported.

Yom Kippur is a day when synagogues are particularly busy, as practicing Jews conduct services, pray introspectively, and reflect on the past year.

Following the attack, Greater Manchester Police declared PLATO, a national code used when armed officers are deployed in response to an ongoing threat, ANI reported.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced that "additional police assets" will be deployed at synagogues across the country.

"The fact that this has taken place on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar, makes it all the more horrific. My thoughts are with the loved ones of all those affected," he wrote in a post on social media platform X.

Starmer will cut short his trip to Copenhagen, where he was attending a European security meeting, to return to the UK and chair a session of the government's Cobra committee, a cross-departmental group convened during national emergencies.

Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham urged the public to avoid the area, saying: "Obviously, what we would all want to recognise is how people in our Jewish community will be feeling right now."

He added: "I can only imagine how people are feeling when they hear this news, the fear that that will bring."

Four local hospitals have reportedly been placed on lockdown in response to the attack.

(With ANI inputs)