Brazil Found ISIS Terror on Rio Olympics Through Poison and Drone Bomb
Brazil Found ISIS Terror on Rio Olympics Through Poison and Drone Bomb
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RIO DE JANEIRO - Brazil's federal police today arrested 10 people and smashed a network allied to ISIS that was preparing 'acts of terrorism' at next month's Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
Allegedly, they are believed to have been in online contact with members of Islamic State. They are also reported to have discussed acquisition of AK-47 assault rifles and celebrated the terror attacks on Orlando and Nice.
President Michel Temer has called an emergency cabinet meeting and Justice Minister Alexandre de Moraes said the operation spanned nine states across Brazil, although the arrests were made in the southern states of Sao Paulo and Parana.
A court in Parana said there were indications the group was planning to use weapons to launch attacks similar to the Paris atrocities in November last year.
Earlier this month Moraes said a jihadist attack in Rio de Janeiro during the Olympics was a 'possibility' but 'not a probability'. Brazil's intelligence agency said earlier this week it was investigating all threats to the Rio Olympics, which start on August 5.
There have been reports that jihadi groups linked to rival terror network al-Qaeda were urging their followers to carry out 'lone wolf' attacks at the Olympics in Rio targeting American, British and French athletes.
In an ominous echo of the murderous attacks at the 1972 Olympics in Munich, threats have also been made to Israeli athletes. Security at this year's Olympiad was already set to be tight.
Last week it was reported that a Brazilian group had become the first organisation in South America to pledge allegiance to ISIS. Jihadi groups linked to terror network al Qaeda are urging their followers to carry out 'lone wolf attacks at the Olympics in Rio
They are also told that it is easy to obtain a visa to travel to Brazil and that guns are widely available in the slums of Rio. Among the ideas for attacks, they include poisoning food, using small drones with explosives and kidnapping athletes. They also suggest pouring oil on to roads in a bid to cause road accidents.
The calls come just days after the Brazilian group pledged allegiance to ISIS sparking further fears for a terror attack at the Rio Olympics. The pledge was spotted by SITE Intelligence , a jihadi monitoring group, on ISIS's messaging app of choice - Telegram.
In the Telegram channel titled Ansar al-Khilafah #Brazil, the Brazilian jihadis announced their dedication to ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
Meanwhile, France was last week informed of a planned terror attack on its team at the Games, according to the head of military intelligence.
The plans were revealed by General Christophe Gomart, head of the Directorate of Military Intelligence (DRM), at a parliamentary commission in May investigating the attacks in Paris in January and November last year which left 147 people dead.
In the report on the planned Rio attack, Gomart told the commission he had been informed of the plot - planned by a Brazilian national - 'by our partners'. No other details on the claims were made available by the French authorities.
Brazil's institutional security cabinet, which co-ordinates the information services in the country, told AFP they had received no information from the French authorities.
'We were not the source of information and the Brazilian intelligence agency (ABIN) was not officially informed either of this matter,' a spokesman told AFP.
Some 85,000 members of the security forces - 47,000 policemen and 38,000 soldiers - will be mobilised to ensure the safety of 10,500 athletes as well as officials, journalists and tourists from around the world expected for the Games which run from August 5 to 21.
Allegedly, they are believed to have been in online contact with members of Islamic State. They are also reported to have discussed acquisition of AK-47 assault rifles and celebrated the terror attacks on Orlando and Nice.
President Michel Temer has called an emergency cabinet meeting and Justice Minister Alexandre de Moraes said the operation spanned nine states across Brazil, although the arrests were made in the southern states of Sao Paulo and Parana.
A court in Parana said there were indications the group was planning to use weapons to launch attacks similar to the Paris atrocities in November last year.
Earlier this month Moraes said a jihadist attack in Rio de Janeiro during the Olympics was a 'possibility' but 'not a probability'. Brazil's intelligence agency said earlier this week it was investigating all threats to the Rio Olympics, which start on August 5.
There have been reports that jihadi groups linked to rival terror network al-Qaeda were urging their followers to carry out 'lone wolf' attacks at the Olympics in Rio targeting American, British and French athletes.
In an ominous echo of the murderous attacks at the 1972 Olympics in Munich, threats have also been made to Israeli athletes. Security at this year's Olympiad was already set to be tight.
Last week it was reported that a Brazilian group had become the first organisation in South America to pledge allegiance to ISIS. Jihadi groups linked to terror network al Qaeda are urging their followers to carry out 'lone wolf attacks at the Olympics in Rio
They are also told that it is easy to obtain a visa to travel to Brazil and that guns are widely available in the slums of Rio. Among the ideas for attacks, they include poisoning food, using small drones with explosives and kidnapping athletes. They also suggest pouring oil on to roads in a bid to cause road accidents.
The calls come just days after the Brazilian group pledged allegiance to ISIS sparking further fears for a terror attack at the Rio Olympics. The pledge was spotted by SITE Intelligence , a jihadi monitoring group, on ISIS's messaging app of choice - Telegram.
In the Telegram channel titled Ansar al-Khilafah #Brazil, the Brazilian jihadis announced their dedication to ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
Meanwhile, France was last week informed of a planned terror attack on its team at the Games, according to the head of military intelligence.
The plans were revealed by General Christophe Gomart, head of the Directorate of Military Intelligence (DRM), at a parliamentary commission in May investigating the attacks in Paris in January and November last year which left 147 people dead.
In the report on the planned Rio attack, Gomart told the commission he had been informed of the plot - planned by a Brazilian national - 'by our partners'. No other details on the claims were made available by the French authorities.
Brazil's institutional security cabinet, which co-ordinates the information services in the country, told AFP they had received no information from the French authorities.
'We were not the source of information and the Brazilian intelligence agency (ABIN) was not officially informed either of this matter,' a spokesman told AFP.
Some 85,000 members of the security forces - 47,000 policemen and 38,000 soldiers - will be mobilised to ensure the safety of 10,500 athletes as well as officials, journalists and tourists from around the world expected for the Games which run from August 5 to 21.
(rnz)
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