British police say they believe the man responsible for the deadly attack at a synagogue in Manchester was a 35-year-old British citizen of Syrian descent.

The assailant drove a car into people outside a synagogue in northern England and then began stabbing them, killing two and seriously wounding four in a terrorist attack on the holiest day of the Jewish year.

"We believe the person responsible for today's attacks is 35-year-old Jihad Al-Shamie," Greater Manchester Police said late on Thursday.

The police added that three suspects - two men in their 30s and a woman in her 60s - were currently in custody and "have been arrested on suspicion of commission, preparation and instigation of acts of terrorism".

Al-Shamie was shot dead by armed officers at the scene.

The Metropolitan Police

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