It is understood that the involvement of specialist counter-terror officers was directly prompted by the stark similarities the attack bore to an incident in the Ealing area of London on February 27, when an 82-year-old worshipper was doused in petrol and set alight.
His hair, beard and eyebrows are badly burnt. “For 35 years he’s been going to that mosque to pray and there's never been a problem,” he said. Tayyab Riaz, the victim’s nephew, told the BBC the family was “very upset” and described the attack as “shocking news”. The victim suffered burns to his face and was taken to hospital with serious injuries, which the force said were not life-threatening. Horrific CCTV of the attack showed the worshipper trying to fend off the assailant after he was sprayed, only to be consumed by an enormous ball of fire.
West Midlands Police said the victim, in his 70s, was approached by a man who spoke to him briefly before spraying an “unknown substance” on his jacket and igniting it on Shenstone Road in the Edgbaston area. Counter-terrorism police are assisting with an investigation into a second Muslim man in the space of a month being set alight after leaving a mosque.Ī man was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder on Tuesday after a worshipper was targeted as he walked home from Dudley Road mosque in Birmingham on Monday evening.
