A mother and her three children have been found dead in a house fire in what may have been a revenge attack after a man was killed several hours earlier.
Shehnila Taufiq, who was in her 40s, died along with her 19-year-old daughter and sons aged 17 and 15 when their property was engulfed in flames.
Their bodies were found inside the bedrooms of the terraced home in the Spinney Hills area of Leicester just after 12.30am on Friday.
Detectives said they could not rule out a link with a deadly assault on a man in his 20s half a mile away in Kent Street as they launched two murder investigations within 24 hours.
Officers were called to the scene at 5.30pm on Thursday and the victim was taken to Leicester Royal Infirmary where he died.
The fire ripped through the property in Leicester Assistant Chief Constable Roger Bannister said police were examining the possibility of the blaze being a revenge attack.
Urging witnesses to get in touch, Mr Bannister said it was possible both offences, which he described as "terrible, terrible crimes", were linked.
He said officers were exploring different lines of inquiry but one included the fire potentially being a revenge attack.
Mr Bannister said he was particularly keen to speak to witnesses who were in both locations. He said the crimes might be linked because of the close locations and lack of time between them.
He added: "I can't confirm here and now it is a revenge attack - it may be, it may not be - but lines of inquiry will certainly get to the bottom of that."
Referring to neighbours talking about a "fire bombing", Mr Bannister said: "Fire bombing in my experience means different things to different people.
"We are working really closely with the fire brigade. Exactly how the fire started, where it started and of course who is responsible is something we will get to the bottom of."
The children were named by the local mosque as Zainab, Jamal and Bilal.
Mrs Taufiq's husband, Taufiq Sattar, works at a hospital in Dublin.
A spokesman for the Beautmont Hospital said: "We have learned, with shock, of the tragic loss suffered by our colleague Mr Taufiq Sattar.
"We wish to express our sincere condolences to Mr Sattar and assure him that our support and thoughts are with him at this terrible time."
Neighbours spoke of flames shooting out of the house which was gutted in the blaze.
Mr Bannister said neither the family nor the man who was killed were known to police.
An aerial view of the house The force has drafted in extra officers and forensics staff to investigate both crimes and increased patrols in the area.
Officers are working to trace a man who also lived in the property.
Among friends and neighbours who paid tribute at the scene was teacher Mohammed Qasim Manjra.
Mr Manjra, who taught Jamal history at a nearby independent Islamic school, said: "He was a very sociable kid and we are very sad that he has gone."
Leicester-based Imam Ibrahim Mogra, the assistant secretary-general of the Muslim Council of Britain, also visited the scene.
He told reporters: "I did not know them personally but from what people have told me they were a very religious family, very humble, very modest and very generous.
"The mother was a scholar herself and clearly they were a family that was into religion and education and were held in very high esteem by the local community."
Local store-keeper Sattar Raidhan, who has lived in the area for 35 years, said: "I believe the husband worked as a doctor in Ireland and he came home every weekend to see his family. I can't even imagine how this would happen to a family like that."
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