Monday, July 11 2005 16:34 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

London: Several incidents of hate crime including four arson attacks on mosques have been reported in an apparent backlash on Asians over Thursday's (July 7, 2005) deadly terrorist bombings in London.

Mosques in Leeds, Belvedere, Telford and Birkenhead were the targets of arson attacks following the deadly blasts in London underground and a bus that had killed at least 50 and injured hundreds.

Three further attacks were reported on mosques in east London and Bristol.

A number of incidents of hate crime and racially and religiously motivated offences had occurred, senior police spokesman Commander Brian Paddick said yesterday (July 10, 2005).

"We have had a number of incidents of hate crime, racially and religiously motivated offences, and we take these types of offences very, very seriously," he told reporters.

"There has been one serious injury," he said.

In the attack on the east London mosque, 19 windows were smashed, according to the newspaper The Muslim News.

In Hayes, Middlesex, an Asian woman reported attempted arson after she noticed "liquid" dripping down her door and smelt petrol" on the day of the terrorist attacks.

The same day, five white men were arrested after bottles were thrown at the windows of a Gurudwara in south London.

In a separate incident, arson was reported at the home of an Asian family in the Broadway, South-hall.

Sikh community leaders have asked the police for greater protection after Gurudwara in Kent was set on Fire on Friday.

In a statement, the Metropolitan police said that the force was keeping an open mind on the motive for the London attacks, but that many of the allegations involved threatening phone calls or racist abuse.

A spokesman said, "Reassurance Patrols" were being carried out in areas considered vulnerable.

A spokesman for the Muslim Council of Great Britain said there was a real sense of "fear and apprehension" among many Muslim communities, particularly in London.

Senior Muslim figures met over the weekend to discuss how best to deal with the increasingly tense climate.

A spokesman for the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) said yesterday that there was an "increased level of concern" among the public in general and the Muslim community in particular since the bombings in London on Thursday, but stressed community relations on the whole had been "reassuringly calm."

ACPO president Chris Fox said he believed "low level" incidents of violence had not been reported to the police.

"We encourage everyone to report this type of obnoxious and dangerous behaviour, from whatever quarter, for full police investigation because we are determined there will be a very robust enforcement response to it.

"It is absolutely crucial that there should be no reaction against any section of the community. That would simply play into the hands of the murderers," he said.