Kosovo police say they foiled synchronized terrorist attacks by the Islamic State group, including one on the Israeli national football team that played a World Cup qualifier in Albania.The suspects were receiving orders from Islamic State member Lavdrim Muhaxheri, the self-declared “commander of Albanians in Syria and Iraq,” police said.
The Kosovo police said that at the suspects’ homes and premises officers found explosive devices, weapons, and electronic equipment, including “religious material and literature from well-known authors recognized for their extremist ideology.” The groups in the three countries, coordinated by two Albanians who are part of the Islamic State group in Syria, had “clear targets on who and when should be attacked,” the police said.
“They were planning to commit terrorist attacks in Kosovo and also (an attack) against (the) Israeli football team and their fans during the Albania-Israel match,”
-Kosovo police said, according to Reuters.
They arrested 19 people suspected of planning to carry out terrorist attacks in Kosovo and Albania, against Israeli footballers recently playing a World Cup qualifying match. The arrests of 18 Kosovo Albanians and one citizen of Macedonia were carried out between November 4 and 16, the police said.
During the arrests, substantial explosives, including 281 grams of TATP, 2.5 kg of other explosive substance, as well as personal weapons and radio-communication devices were found.
The people who were arrested were divided into several groups and were being coordinated by two Kosovar ISIS members, Lavdim Muhaxheri and Ridvan Haqifi, the police said.
