Counter-terror cops probe suspected anti-Muslim 'attacks' in Edinburgh

Police in Scotland have launched a counter-terrorism investigation after a series of violent attacks in Edinburgh on Friday evening left five men injured in what are being treated as suspected anti-Muslim incidents.

Police Scotland said a 36-year-old Scottish man has been arrested in connection with the attacks and that authorities believe there is no ongoing threat to public safety. Videos shared on social media appeared to show a shirtless man, believed to be the suspect, walking through parts of Edinburgh carrying a large weapon.

According to police, emergency services received multiple calls reporting a range of violent incidents, including assaults, threats, robbery, and vandalism across the city. Counter Terrorism Policing Scotland is leading the investigation with support from specialist units and local officers.

The victims, aged 22, 22, 24, 27, and 39, suffered various injuries. Three of them required hospital treatment, although none of the injuries were considered life-threatening.

Scotland’s First Minister John Swinney expressed deep concern over the incidents, stating that violence, racism, and intolerance have no place in Scottish society.

Both the Scottish Association of Mosques and the anti-Islamophobia organization Muslim Engagement and Development (MEND) said several of the victims were Muslim. MEND also pointed to online footage allegedly showing the suspect making anti-Muslim remarks and claiming he was “protecting the country” from Muslims.

The organization called on police to classify the attacks as an act of Islamophobic far-right terrorism, arguing that the available evidence supports such a designation.

The incidents occur against a backdrop of heightened tensions across the United Kingdom surrounding immigration and diversity issues. Concerns have grown that far-right groups are exploiting recent high-profile events to spread racist and anti-immigrant sentiment.

Recent unrest in Belfast followed a knife attack allegedly carried out by a Sudanese refugee, while protests in Southampton turned violent amid controversy over the handling of the murder of student Henry Nowak by a British Sikh man.

Police said the attacks in Edinburgh began in the Sighthill area, where two men were assaulted and later taken to hospital. Reports indicate the initial incident occurred near a mosque. Three additional victims were attacked at other locations before officers located and arrested the suspect.

The man remains in police custody as investigations continue.

Assistant Chief Constable Catriona Paton described the attacks as “shocking” and stressed that racism and religiously motivated hatred are unacceptable in Scotland.