polani
06.10.06, 07:59
Extremists plan mass Prague murders
According to Czech paper, Islamic extremists plot to kidnap, then kill Jews
in synagogue in nation's capital
Reuters Published: 10.06.06, 04:02
Islamic extremists planned to kidnap dozens of Jews in Prague and hold them
hostage before murdering them, the daily Mlada Fronta Dnes reported on Friday.
The Czech Republic's leading newspaper quoted unidentified sources close to
intelligence agencies as saying the captives would have been held in a Prague
synagogue while the captors made broad demands that they knew could not be
fulfilled.
When those demands - which were not specified by the sources - were not met,
the extremists would blow up the building, killing all who were inside, the
paper added. The paper, which gave other few details, did not say whether any
arrests were made and did not specify the identities of the extremists.
On Sept. 23 the government deployed armed guards around dozens of buildings
and on the streets in the Czech capital after security services issued a
warning that an unspecified attack was imminent.
Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek and government officials have since refused to
divulge details of what kind of attack they feared in Prague. "I am not
authorized to provide any information in this case," the paper quoted
Topolanek as saying.
"Concurrent with the government decision, I only continue to insist that the
measures and the extent of information supplied to the public were, and are
in proportion to the information obtained (by intelligence officials) and to
the threat."
The Czech Republic has a small military unit in Afghanistan and military
police instructors in Iraq.
Prague's Old Town is the location for the Jewish Quarter where thousands of
tourists
