Brazilian police have arrested 10 people after discovering an alleged plot to commit acts of terrorism during the upcoming Olympic Games.
The arrests were made in Parana and though not suspected to be affiliated with IS, the group were found to have attempted contact with them.
This newest shock comes just two days after the first South American extremist group pledging allegiance to IS came to light.
The group, named Ansar al-Khilafah was discovered by the SITE Intelligence using Telegram, IS’s favoured messaging app.
Just last week, France was warned of an impending terror attack on its Olympics teams. This plot was uncovered by General Christophe Gomart, head of the Directorate of Military Intelligence (DRM) during an investigation of the January and November Paris attacks.
The Brazillian Minister of Justice, Alexandre Moraes, said a terrorist attack was a possible though “not a probability.”
85,000 security personnel are to be mobilised during the Games. After the Nice lorry attack which killed 84, Defence Minister Raul Jungmann, said “the attack in Nice is worrisome for us, too. We have learned a few lessons. We will review procedures, make more barriers, searches and apply much tighter security.”
An estimated 10,500 athletes are to take part in the Games, as well as hundreds of thousands of spectators, journalists, tourists and officials from around the globe.
