Shocking scenes have unfolded on the streets of one of Europe’s most picturesque cities as a man allegedly went on a machete rampage targeting Muslims in the latest racial flashpoint to hit the UK.Five people were injured in the attacks carried out in Edinburgh, Scotland, on Friday evening, local time, with a 36-year-old man arrested.Scottish police said Saturday counter-terrorism officers were investigating several attacks and added there was “no further threat to the public”.Footage posted online showed a bare-chested man – purportedly the suspect – roaming the streets of the Scottish capital with a large weapon.A police statement said they had received multiple emergency calls late Friday from people reporting “violent attacks including threats, robbery and vandalism across Edinburgh, with five men injured”.The victims – two aged 22, and others aged 24, 27, and 39 – sustained various injuries, said police. Three required hospital treatment, but none of the injuries were life-threatening, the statement added. A video posted on social media appeared to show a man armed with a knife, while another captured him shouting, “I’m protecting the country,” as he was held down by police.The Scottish Association of Mosques said two of those hurt were “reportedly attacked after attending prayers at their local mosque”.British Prime Minister Keir Starmer described the incident as “absolutely appalling” and one “motivated by anti-Muslim hatred”.“No one should face violence on our streets,” he wrote on X.“The suspect appears to be motivated by anti-Muslim hatred. I will not tolerate this – he will face the full force of the law.“My thoughts are with those who are injured and I thank the police and the emergency services for their response.”Scotland’s First Minister John Swinney said he was “deeply concerned”, in a post on X. “There is no place for violence, racism or intolerance in our country,” he added.Rising tensionsBoth the Scottish Association of Mosques and the anti-Islamophobia non-profit Muslim Engagement and Development (MEND) said several of the victims were Muslims.MEND noted the alleged footage of the arrested man circulating online also showed him shouting about “protecting the country” from Muslims, accompanied by expletive-filled language.The organisation urged police to “treat this as what the evidence indicates: Islamophobic, far-right terror”.The mosques association noted: “In recent days we have seen calls for anti-migrant protests circulating online, alongside increasingly aggressive rhetoric directed at minority communities.“These developments should concern everyone, regardless of faith or background.”The incident comes as tensions are high across the UK over immigration and diversity. There have been claims that far-right agitators are fuelling racist sentiment after a number of high-profile incidents. The Northern Irish capital, Belfast, experienced two nights of serious disorder last week after a knife attack, allegedly perpetrated by a Sudanese refugee, was captured on camera and went viral online.There were also violent skirmishes between protesters and police the previous week in Southampton, southern England, over the handling of the murder of young white student Henry Nowak by a British Sikh man.Detailing Friday night’s incidents, Police Scotland said two men were initially injured in Sighthill, a west Edinburgh suburb, and taken to hospital by ambulance.The BBC said it understood the attacks began near a mosque.Three other men were subsequently attacked elsewhere, suffering different injuries, before officers confronted and arrested the suspect, according to police.“The individual remains in custody and enquiries continue,” Police Scotland said.