Greece’s National Intelligence Service and the Anti-Terror Department of the Hellenic Police have dismantled a terrorists’ network that was preparing attacks in the country.
According to an announcement by authorities on Tuesday afternoon, two foreigners were arrested. The building that the terrorists would target for their attack and cause the death of innocent citizens had already been chosen.
The announcement in detail:
After coordinated actions by the Greek Police and the National Intelligence Service (NIS), a terrorist network was dismantled that, with guidance from abroad, was planning strikes against carefully selected targets in Greek territory.
On the basis of information collected and processed by the National Intelligence Service, coordinated operations of the EYP and the Anti-Terrorist Service (D.A.E.B.) were carried out in various areas of the territory.
In the context of these coordinated actions by the two Services, two (2) foreigners were arrested, members of the terrorist-leadership, who were active abroad, as the “brains” of the network.
They aimed not only at the loss of innocent citizens, but also at undermining the country’s sense of security, simultaneously damaging its institutions and threatening its international relations.
Analysis of the seized information and digital data revealed and confirmed that the members of the network:
-they had already chosen as the target of the attack, a building of special semiotics,
-they had carried out the reconnaissance of the area and the planning of the attack,
-they had received final instructions to carry out the strike,
-in implementation of these instructions, they were also looking for other persons [to recruit] for the best possible execution of their mission.
A criminal case file was opened, while in the morning hours of 03/28/2023, the arrested persons were brought before the Athens District Attorney and referred to an Investigator.
Investigations are ongoing, the announcement concluded.
Target: A Synagogue?
According to some leaks to the press as reported by Mega TV Live News and newsit.gr, the target was a restaurant that is also being used as a synagogue [?] in downtown Athens and the arrested Pakistanis of Iranian origin. Investigation has been reportedly carried out also on the island of Zakynthos, Mega TV reported.
Mega TV reported that the terrorists were planning was attacks with gas, weapons and explosives in a building of Jewish interest, probably a synagogue..
Greece’s authorities had reportedly taken the network under surveillance since November 2022.
The arrested are 27 and 29 years old and were to receive 15,000 euros per casualty, banksnewsthema.gr reported.
The post will be updated as soon as more official information is released as the announcement on such a serious issue aiming to “undermine security in the country” is rather very vague and does not even mention the nationalities of the arrested foreigners or some other clues.
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