French special services have thwarted an attempt to organize Islamist terrorist attacks during upcoming football matches at the Olympics in Saint-Étienne and arrested a Chechen individual from Russia linked to them, as per France Info.
Ukraine will also participate in the Olympic Games in France. Russian athletes will compete despite activists and officials calling for the International Olympic Committee not to let representatives from the aggressor states attend the event. According to Vadym Hutsayt, President of the National Olympic Committee, over 400 Ukrainian athletes have been killed in Russia’s war.
Reuters reported that in April 2024, French President Emmanuel Macron stated that he had no doubts that Russia would attempt to target the Olympic Games this summer.
“This is the first foiled attack on the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris,” stated Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin.
The suspect was accused of planning violent actions in the name of jihadist ideology (the group ‘Islamic State’), targeting fan groups on the sidelines of sporting events in Saint-Étienne during the Olympics, the police statement said.
The 18-year-old Chechen was arrested last week after police tracked his messages on encrypted messengers discussing future attacks. During a search, investigators found an image of the Saint-Étienne stadium on his computer and videos of the arena on his phone. The young man arrived in France with his parents in 2023.
The Geoffroy-Guichard Stadium in Saint-Étienne is scheduled to host six football matches in both the men’s and women’s tournaments as part of the Olympic Games.
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