Brazilian authorities arrested 10 people loyal to the Islamic State who were believed to be planning attacks during the Summer Olympics, a government official confirmed Thursday.
Advertisement
The Brazilian minister for justice, Alexandre Moraes said, ‘It was an absolutely amateur cell, with no preparation at all, a disorganized cell.
The minister said that the group called itself Defenders of Sharia on social networks, and started out by sharing sympathetic messages about Islamic State on applications such as WhatsApp and Telegram.
Global media report the minister, Alexandre Moraes, describing the cell as “absolute amateurs” and “ill-prepared” to launch an attack.
The police intervention came after signs emerged the group was planning to use arms and guerrilla tactics to achieve its aim, Reuters reported.
Security is expected to be extremely tight at the upcoming Rio Olympics. It added that “12 arrest warrants for temporary custody of 30 days were issued and may be extended for 30 more”.
Brazilian Federal Police officers escort one of the 10 people they arrested on suspicions of belongi …
Additional roadblocks and extra security cordons have been enforced, and body searches will be carried out on visitors before they can enter Olympic venues.
International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach attends a press conference following an Olympic summit on June 21, 2016 in Lausanne.
Members of the group allegedly had pledged allegiance to ISIS but had not had any direct contact with the militant group, Lulu reports from Rio.
He also indicated that while they had pledged allegiance to ISIS, they never had contact with or training by the terrorist group, lacked funding and had not identified any specific targets. In a bid to learn more about their possible plans, the Justice Ministry is probing the suspects’ cell phones and computers.
‘If French police didn’t manage to stop attacks in France, the ill-prepared Brazilian police won’t be able to do it in any way, ‘ the Islamists stated in their address published via SITE Intel Group.
Advertisement
He insisted that the security situation ahead of the Games, the first held in South America, was unchanged.
