Another two people have warrants out for their arrests.
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A court in the state of Parana, where Curitiba is based, said there were indications that the group was planning to use weapons and guerilla tactics to achieve its aim.
In an interview published Wednesday, Justice Minister Alexandre de Moraes told the Folha de S. Paulo newspaper he is more concerned about violence and street crime, problems that affect Rio on a daily basis.
The group essentially said, “Let’s start training in martial arts, let’s start learning how to shoot”, the justice minister said.
Rita Katz, director of Site Intel, an global terrorism watchdog group, reports that ISIS is telling jihadists to become “lone wolves” and “obtain guns or cause traffic accidents” and to attack public transit, take hostages, and to stab or poison people. About 50 heads of state are expected to attend the Games and none of them have called to cancel, he said.
A group calling itself Ansar al-Khilafah Brazil on Sunday pledged its loyalty to ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi on the messaging app Telegram and promised to “wage jihad against the enemy of Allah”. Last month, the Rio de Janeiro state authorities declared a “state of calamity” in order to get an extra $892 million of federal cash.
In describing the various criminal groups that maintain a presence in the region, Tidd highlighted ISIS recruiting networks and other operations linked to terrorism.
That is double the percentage who said they were opposed to Rio’s hosting of the games when the same poll was taken in 2013.
“Many are dismissed and those that deserve attention are investigated exhaustively”, ABIN said. Well, you’re in luck; we have many networks for that, including sub-networks that specialize in… helping funnel cash to worldwide terrorist organizations.
Last week, Brazil said it was bolstering security for the August 5-21 Olympics following the truck attack in the French city of Nice, which killed 84 people and left scores badly wounded.
De Moraes said the suspects are all Brazilian nationals, and that one minor was mentioned in the conversations.
Security has emerged as the top concern during the Olympics, including violence possibly spilling over from Rio’s hundreds of slums.
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An emergency cabinet meeting has been called.
