(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - Four teenagers have been arrested over an arson attack on a mosque.
Three male youths and a girl, all in their late teens, were being quizzed by cops last night in connection with the fire at the newly-built religious building in the Hanley area of Stoke-on-Trent.
They are suspected of trying to use a gas pipe from a nearby building to burn down the mosque.
Fire crews were called at 6.30am on Friday morning after smoke was seen coming from its windows.
The fire was put out before anyone was hurt.
Staffordshire Police Chief Inspector Wayne Jones said: “At this stage we are treating this incident as a racist attack on a religious building.
“I am sure the community are as appalled at this behaviour as we are.”
Call for calm after suspected arson at Hanley mosque
Police have called for calm after a suspected arson attack on a mosque in Stoke-on-Trent.
Fire broke out on the ground floor of the building on Regent Road, Hanley, on December 3 and officers have confirmed that they are treating the blaze as suspicious.
Acting Imam Shoaib Mohammed told StaffsLive that the community had been urged not to panic.
“We’ve been told by the police to advise local Muslims to stay calm until the investigation is over,” he explained.
A spokeswoman for the local neighbourhood policing team added: “At this stage the fire is being treated as arson, however the reason why the site was targeted is unclear.
“A forensic investigation and reviews of CCTV coverage are underway.”
There is no structural damage to the building, but the interior has been smoke-damaged.
But local residents have admitted that they are shocked by the news that the fire appears to have been started deliberately.
Rabia Karim, an employee at the nearby RM Mini Mart said: “We tend to the mosque so we were terrified – it’s like my house going on fire.”
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