Further arrests over World Youth Day ‘terrorism’ fears

A 48-year-old Iraqi citizen was arrested in Łódź, central Poland, shortly before the start of World Youth Day after being found carrying “traces” of explosives.

Authorities intended to charge him for possession of explosive materials though ruled out filing terrorism charges as the “traces” were not sufficient to set off a detonation.

The Prosecutor General said that in addition to the Iraqi citizen, a Tunisian and an Algerian citizen were also arrested during World Youth Day due to what he called a “potential terrorist threat”.

According to Ziobro there is currently no known link between them and the Iraqi citizen other than the fact that they have all been detained for similar reasons.

Ziobro congratulated the Polish security services, saying “they have acted very professionally, cooperating with the Prosecutor’s Office […] we have confirmed that there was contact with explosive material”.

Speaking about the man arrested in Łódź, Ziobro commented, “We know that he was interested in places the Pope was planning to visit, and wanted to rent an apartment next to the Pope’s planned route”.

Pope Francis visited Poland at the end of July as part of World Youth Day, an international Catholic gathering. (sl/rg)

Source: PAP