Two arrested in the United Kingdom for confrontation in the synagogue of Texas

Hostages released at Texas synagogue 2:13

London (CNN) --

Two men were arrested in the British cities of Birmingham and Manchester on Thursday morning as part of the investigation into the hostage standoff at a Texas synagogue last weekend, Greater Manchester police said. .

The men remain in custody for questioning as UK counter-terrorism investigators support US authorities in investigating the incident that has put American Jewish communities on edge.

The FBI is investigating Saturday's confrontation as "a terrorism-related matter, in which the Jewish community was the target," the bureau has said.

The FBI has identified Malik Faisal Akram, a British national, as the man who held four people hostage at a Colleyville, Texas, synagogue in an 11-hour standoff.

An FBI team killed Akram after one of the hostages was released and three escaped.

Akram, 44, was known to UK security services and had been the subject of a brief investigation in 2020, a British official told CNN on Tuesday.

That investigation was closed when authorities determined that Akram was no longer a threat.

• Jewish Communities Across the US Are on High Alert After Texas Hostage Taking: Is Our Community Under Attack Again?

In late December, he arrived in the United States through New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport, a US law enforcement source familiar with the investigation told CNN.

Investigators believe Akram was motivated in the hostage-taking by a desire to see the release of convicted terrorist Aafia Siddiqui, who is serving an 86-year federal prison sentence in Fort Worth, they have said.

She was not involved in the Colleyville confrontation, his attorney said.

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Two teenagers arrested on Sunday in south Manchester were released without charge on Tuesday, according to the British news agency PA Media.

The heroic rabbi will leave the congregation

The hostages' daring escape from the synagogue late on Saturday, as Akram's mood deteriorated, was led by Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker, who credited security training with preparing them "to act and flee." when the situation arose.

Cytron-Walker will leave Congregation Beth Israel in June, spokeswoman Jennifer Farmer told CNN Wednesday.

"The rabbi had been planning for the transition. He had been with the congregation for 16 years. While this transition was already planned, right now he is singularly focused on healing from the tragedy of last weekend," Farmer said.

CNN's Travis Caldwell, Amir Vera, Jason Hanna and Joe Sutton contributed to this report.

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