North Macedonian police arrest three allegedly for terrorism

Police in North Macedonia say they have seized a large quantity of weapons and arrested three men on suspicion of planning terror attacks after raids in four locations in the country's north.

The three suspects, identified only by their initials as V.A. (22) B.A. (25) and E.Lj. (25), are former Islamic State fighters and returnees, who were convicted and have previously served jail sentences for their involvement with the militant group, according to police.

According to Tuesday's statement, the men have been arrested for allegedly creating and joining a group with the intention of "carrying out a terrorist act" on targets in North Macedonia.

Police said that in early 2019 the group created a "criminal cell, based on the ideological matrix of the ISIS terrorist organization, with the intention of carrying out a terrorist act on targets in the territory of the Republic of Northern Macedonia."

The members of the group, the police statement said, have provided financial means and procured a large quantity of weapons, ammunition and military equipment, which they hid and stored near the local road in the northern village of Biljanovce.

Police there found five automatic rifles, a machine gun, 18 frames for an automatic rifle with 30 bullets each, eight grenade launchers with fuses, camouflage vests and an ISIS flag with Arabic inscription.

They also found two hand grenade launchers to activate the belts as well as a series of smaller items including radios, explosive fuses, knives, a laptop, mobile phones, five SIM cards, an electronic lens device, a camouflage suit and a car.

Police also said that in raids across four locations, three in the northern town of Kumanovo and one in the country's capital Skopje, they seized two handmade belts filled with explosives, metal balls (bearings) all mounted on a cardboard base.

Police said they have filed criminal charges for the three men for "terrorism" and "creating a terrorist organization."

If put on trial, they face up to 15 years in jail on both charges.

Authorities in the country in 2016 estimated that some 150 Macedonian nationals had travelled to fight alongside Islamic insurgents in Iraq and Syria.

Most of them came from the country's mainly Muslim ethnic-Albanian minority, which represents about one-quarter of the population of 2.1 million people.

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