A poorly organized group supporting Islamic State (IS) and discussing terrorist acts during the next month's Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro has been identified and 10 people of the groups have been arrested by Brazil.
Using messaging apps such as WhatsApp and Telegram, the all Brazilian member group kept in touch with each other and the group has been described as "absolutely amateur" by Justice Minister Alexandre Moraes. The minister said that the group members personally did not know each other.
Amid growing fears of a possible attack when the first Olympics to be held in South America kicks off on Aug. 5 and the truck massacre in Nice, France are the back drop for the arrests. Brazil expects to host at least 500,000 visitors who would travel to Brazil for the Games and many of them from the United States.
The Games had made the Latin American country a more likely target, particularly because of participation by countries fighting IS, Moraes said although Brazil has no history of conflict with known militant groups.
"Today was the first operation against a supposed terrorist cell in Brazil. Brazil was not part of the coalition against IS but, because of the upcoming Olympics and because it will receive many foreigners, Brazil has become a target," he told a news conference.
The group had "no preparation at all" and was a "disorganized cell", Moraes said since they had accessed websites linked to IS the individuals were detained on Thursday and they were being monitored earlier. When the group started planning actions including martial-arts training and the purchase of firearms, the authorities intervened, he said.
The minister said that some members of the group had made "pro forma" declarations of allegiance to the militant Islamist group via social media even though the group did not have direct contact with IS.
The arrests were made in close cooperation with French, German, British, Israeli and U.S. intelligence agencies and the Brazilian police and intelligence services, a presidential aide said on Thursday after the arrests.
Primarily located in the lawless tri-border region with Paraguay and Argentina, Brazil's federal police are monitoring around 100 people for possible links to terrorist groups, said the aide.
"Brazil was really being preemptive in this case," said Scott Stewart, vice president of tactical analysis at Stratfor, a global intelligence and advisory firm. "There are some tactical benefits to arrests like this...You could disrupt anything in the works and it may also give other people pause,” the aide said.
In what will be more than twice as many in place for the London Olympics in 2012, about 85,000 soldiers, police and other security personnel during the Rio Games is being planned to be deployed by Brazil. Representatives from more than 100 countries are expected to help share intelligence and monitor the event through a joint security center which will be set up and operated by Brazilian authorities.
With the release of 100,000 tickets on Thursday aimed at improving attendance, concerns that the arrests might affect ticket sales for the Games were raised by the local media.
(Source:www.cnbc.com)
Using messaging apps such as WhatsApp and Telegram, the all Brazilian member group kept in touch with each other and the group has been described as "absolutely amateur" by Justice Minister Alexandre Moraes. The minister said that the group members personally did not know each other.
Amid growing fears of a possible attack when the first Olympics to be held in South America kicks off on Aug. 5 and the truck massacre in Nice, France are the back drop for the arrests. Brazil expects to host at least 500,000 visitors who would travel to Brazil for the Games and many of them from the United States.
The Games had made the Latin American country a more likely target, particularly because of participation by countries fighting IS, Moraes said although Brazil has no history of conflict with known militant groups.
"Today was the first operation against a supposed terrorist cell in Brazil. Brazil was not part of the coalition against IS but, because of the upcoming Olympics and because it will receive many foreigners, Brazil has become a target," he told a news conference.
The group had "no preparation at all" and was a "disorganized cell", Moraes said since they had accessed websites linked to IS the individuals were detained on Thursday and they were being monitored earlier. When the group started planning actions including martial-arts training and the purchase of firearms, the authorities intervened, he said.
The minister said that some members of the group had made "pro forma" declarations of allegiance to the militant Islamist group via social media even though the group did not have direct contact with IS.
The arrests were made in close cooperation with French, German, British, Israeli and U.S. intelligence agencies and the Brazilian police and intelligence services, a presidential aide said on Thursday after the arrests.
Primarily located in the lawless tri-border region with Paraguay and Argentina, Brazil's federal police are monitoring around 100 people for possible links to terrorist groups, said the aide.
"Brazil was really being preemptive in this case," said Scott Stewart, vice president of tactical analysis at Stratfor, a global intelligence and advisory firm. "There are some tactical benefits to arrests like this...You could disrupt anything in the works and it may also give other people pause,” the aide said.
In what will be more than twice as many in place for the London Olympics in 2012, about 85,000 soldiers, police and other security personnel during the Rio Games is being planned to be deployed by Brazil. Representatives from more than 100 countries are expected to help share intelligence and monitor the event through a joint security center which will be set up and operated by Brazilian authorities.
With the release of 100,000 tickets on Thursday aimed at improving attendance, concerns that the arrests might affect ticket sales for the Games were raised by the local media.
(Source:www.cnbc.com)
