Kyiv Says French National Arrested In Ukraine Planned 15 Terrorist Attacks
The head of Ukraine’s State Security Service (SBU) said the French national arrested in Ukraine last month had been planning to stage 15 terrorist attacks during the Europe 2016 soccer championship in France.
SBU chief Vasyl Hrytsak told reporters on June 6 that the man intended to blow up "a Muslim mosque, a Jewish synagogue, tax collection organizations, police patrol units, and numerous other locations."
On June 4, the Ukrainian Border Guard confirmed reports that a French national with a cache of weapons and explosives was arrested on the Ukrainian-Polish border in late May.
Hrytsak said the man “obtained five Kalashnikov rifles, more than 5,000 bullets, two antitank grenade launchers, 125 kilograms of [explosive material,] 100 detonators, 20 balaclavas, and other things."
Security officials in Europe are on high alert after gunmen killed 130 in Paris in November last year and suicide bombers blew themselves up at Brussels airport and on the metro in March, killing 32.
Based on reporting by Reuters, AP, and unian.net
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