<p class="title">Four mosques in the central English city of Birmingham have been attacked overnight, with a man wielding a sledgehammer seen smashing windows at two places of worship, the police said on Thursday.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Counter-terrorism officers are investigating attacks on the mosques in four different areas in the north of the city, West Midlands Police said in a statement.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The force added the incidents "are being treated as linked".</p>.<p class="bodytext">"At the moment we don't know the motive for last night's attacks," said Chief Constable Dave Thompson in a statement.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"What I can say is that the force and the counter-terrorism unit are working side-by-side to find whoever is responsible."</p>.<p class="bodytext">Officers were first alerted in the early hours of Thursday to reports of a man smashing windows with a sledgehammer at one of the places of worship, police said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Following reports of a similar attack at another mosque in a nearby neighbourhood, officers launched targeted patrols and discovered "further damage" at two other sites.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"Forensic officers are working to identify evidence, and CCTV is being examined," the West Midlands force added.</p>.<p class="bodytext">British national police chiefs last week announced officers were providing "reassurance patrols" around mosques in the immediate aftermath of Friday's deadly gun rampage in New Zealand.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Anti-racism groups have warned Islamophobia is on the rise in Britain and spurring a spike in far-right activity in the country.</p>.<p class="bodytext">A report released last month by the Hope Not Hate charity cited a poll which found more than a third of Britons see Islam as "generally a threat to the British way of life".</p>.<p class="bodytext">In another recent incident, Mohammed Mahmoud -- an imam who won praise for shielding the perpetrator of a 2017 deadly terror attack against a north London mosque -- reported he was spat at and abused this week.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Mahmoud said he was targeted Monday while returning home from a solidarity event for the New Zealand massacre with other religious leaders, as well as interior minister Sajid Javid and London Mayor Sadiq Khan. </p>
<p class="title">Four mosques in the central English city of Birmingham have been attacked overnight, with a man wielding a sledgehammer seen smashing windows at two places of worship, the police said on Thursday.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Counter-terrorism officers are investigating attacks on the mosques in four different areas in the north of the city, West Midlands Police said in a statement.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The force added the incidents "are being treated as linked".</p>.<p class="bodytext">"At the moment we don't know the motive for last night's attacks," said Chief Constable Dave Thompson in a statement.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"What I can say is that the force and the counter-terrorism unit are working side-by-side to find whoever is responsible."</p>.<p class="bodytext">Officers were first alerted in the early hours of Thursday to reports of a man smashing windows with a sledgehammer at one of the places of worship, police said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Following reports of a similar attack at another mosque in a nearby neighbourhood, officers launched targeted patrols and discovered "further damage" at two other sites.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"Forensic officers are working to identify evidence, and CCTV is being examined," the West Midlands force added.</p>.<p class="bodytext">British national police chiefs last week announced officers were providing "reassurance patrols" around mosques in the immediate aftermath of Friday's deadly gun rampage in New Zealand.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Anti-racism groups have warned Islamophobia is on the rise in Britain and spurring a spike in far-right activity in the country.</p>.<p class="bodytext">A report released last month by the Hope Not Hate charity cited a poll which found more than a third of Britons see Islam as "generally a threat to the British way of life".</p>.<p class="bodytext">In another recent incident, Mohammed Mahmoud -- an imam who won praise for shielding the perpetrator of a 2017 deadly terror attack against a north London mosque -- reported he was spat at and abused this week.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Mahmoud said he was targeted Monday while returning home from a solidarity event for the New Zealand massacre with other religious leaders, as well as interior minister Sajid Javid and London Mayor Sadiq Khan. </p>