French researchers have apparently prevented a planned attack on the Olympic Games. An 18-year-old was arrested on May 22, it is now known. His aim was to attack football events in the city of Saint-Etienne.
French security authorities say they have foiled plans to attack spectators and security forces at the Summer Olympics. An 18-year-old Chechen was arrested. The French Interior Ministry said the plans had an Islamist motivation.
It is the “first foiled assassination attempt at the Olympic Games,” which starts on July 26. Security authorities are particularly concerned due to repeated attacks in France in recent years. The suspected terrorist apparently targeted the Geoffroy Guichard football stadium in Saint-Etienne, southwest of Lyon.
The suspect wanted to attack the Olympic events “to die and become a martyr,” the statement continued.
Conflicts fuel dangerous situations
At the end of March, the highest of three alert levels was again declared in France. Authorities responded to the attack on the Crocus City Hill concert hall in a Moscow suburb that left more than 140 dead, which Islamic State’s jihadist militia claimed as its own.
Several attacks by jihadists have already occurred in Paris, the worst of which occurred on November 13, 2015, with 130 deaths. There are also concerns that the war in Ukraine or the war in the Gaza Strip could lead to violent actions during the Olympics.
Source: Krone
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