Two dead, three critical from Yom Kippur synagogue attack

At least two people were killed when a man rammed his car into a group of Jewish worshipers outside a synagogue in Manchester, England, before getting out and stabbing people in what police are calling a terrorist incident.

Three others were left in serious condition, and a fourth less seriously injured. The attack took place on the morning of Yom Kippur, the holiest day on the Jewish calendar.

The assailant was killed by police officers. Police have identified him as 35-year-old Jihad Al-Shamie, a British citizen of Syrian descent. Police arrested two other people suspected of being somehow involved in the attack.

A neighbour to the synagogue, Chava Lewin, said the attacker had aimed his car at a security guard and tried to break into the building. "The second he got out of the car, he started stabbing anyone near him," she told British media.

Police said further casualties were prevented by the quick actions of security staff and worshippers who prevented the assailant from gaining access to the synagogue. “We are grateful to the member of the public whose quick response to what they witnessed allowed our swift action,” Greater Manchester Police wrote in a statement.

Video taken outside the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation and verified by the BBC shows police shooting the assailant and an officer yelling "Move back, get away. Everybody else, he has a bomb." Police later said the explosive device strapped to the assailant was not viable.