Mosque hammer attacks: Two held

TWO men have been arrested after five mosques were vandalised in a series of sledgehammer attacks.

Counter-terrorism police began investigating on Thursday after Birmingham mosques had their windows broken.

A 34-year-old man from Perry Barr handed himself into a police station in the city and has since been arrested on suspicion of racially aggravated criminal damage. Meanwhile a 38-yearold man from Yardley has been arrested after being detained by members of the public yesterday afternoon.

Officers received reports of vandalism at Al Habib Trust at 2.32am on Thursday and attended a second attack at the Ghousia Mosque at 3.14am. Further damage was done at Witton Islamic Centre and Masjid Madrassa Faizal Islam. It later emerged that a window had also been smashed at Jamia Mosque.

Assistant Chief Constable Matt Ward said: ‘This is a significant step forward in our inquiries.’