Ukraine arrests Frenchman for plotting attacks on Euro 2016
Ukraine's intelligence agency has arrested a heavily-armed Frenchman allegedly accused of planning a string of terror attacks before and during the Euro 2016 football championship in France.
The Ukrainian state security service (SBU) made the announcement on Monday without identifying the name of the French man, saying he had been detained in late May on the border with Poland while carrying a huge arsenal of weapons for allegedly planning to perpetrate acts of terror in France.
Vasyl Grytsak, the SBU chief, said the 25-year-old man had made contact with armed groups in Ukraine with the aim of buying weapons and explosives.
“He obtained five Kalashnikov rifles, more than 5,000 bullets, two anti-tank grenade launchers, 125 kilograms (275 pounds) of TNT, 100 detonators, 20 balaclavas and other things," he said.
Grytsak said the man had planned to conduct “15 terrorist strikes" on the eve and during the Euro soccer championship. The terrorist attacks included blowing up "a Muslim mosque, a Jewish synagogue, tax collection organizations, police patrol units and numerous other locations.”
The SBU chief said the man was arrested on May 21 when he was trying to cross into Poland near the Ukrainian frontier town of Yagodyn.
A French Foreign Ministry spokesman confirmed that a Frenchman has been arrested in Ukraine and said the ministry was in contact with Ukrainian authorities.
France is preparing to host the month-long tournament of Euro 2016 at the stadiums in the Paris area and eight other cities from Friday through July 10.
The European country has been on high alert for possible terror strikes in the wake of the terrorist attacks in Paris in January 2016 and November last year.
A total of 130 people were killed as assailants attacked several venues, including a concert hall, restaurants and a football stadium, within a matter of hours.
The attacks were claimed by the Daesh Takfiri group mainly operating in Iraq and Syria.
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