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Brazil police arrest 10 for 'planning Olympic terrorism' ahead of Rio games | Brazil police arrest 10 for 'planning Olympic terrorism' ahead of Rio games |
(35 minutes later) | |
Police in Brazil have arrested 10 people alleged to be planning a large-scale terrorist attack at the upcoming Rio de Janeiro Olympic games. | |
Two more suspects are said to be on the loose just two weeks before the Olympics begin on 5 August. | |
The group is not thought to be directly linked to the so-called Islamic State (Isis), but is reported to have tried to make contact with the extremist organisation. | |
The arrests were made in 10 different states including Sao Paolo and Parana in the south of the country. | |
Brazilian Justice Minister Alexandre Moraes has said all the suspects are from Brazil and one is a minor, according to Associated Press. | |
The detainees are suspected of pledging allegiance to Isis through social media apps and discussing the use of weapons to carry out an attack. | |
Mr Moraes said there was no specific target for an attack and an emergency cabinet meeting has been called. | |
“They were complete amateurs and ill-prepared” to actually launch at attack, Mr Moraes said. “A few days ago they said they should start practicing martial arts, for example.” | |
However Mr Moraes said even disorganized groups should be taken seriously. | |
Last week, a top military aide in Brazil said concerns about terrorism had “reached a higher level” after the Bastille Day attack in Nice. | Last week, a top military aide in Brazil said concerns about terrorism had “reached a higher level” after the Bastille Day attack in Nice. |
On Tuesday, a Brazilian jihadist group, not yet confirmed to be the same group that has been arrested, became the first in South America to pledge allegiance to Isis. | |
According to extremist monitoring group SITE Intelligence, a channel on the Telegram app called Ansar al-Khilafah #Brazil has posted a message of support for Isis leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. |
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