(AP) Police in North Macedonia said Monday that eight men have been arrested on suspicion of planning terrorist attacks in the country and officers have seized a large quantity of weapons.
Police said the men were arrested late Sunday and are between 21 and 31 years old. One of the suspects had a previous conviction of participation in the Islamic State group.
The eight have been charged with creating a terrorist organization. If convicted of that charge, they face prison sentences of up to 10 years.
The eight were arrested on suspicion of “creating a terrorist organization, based on the ideological matrix of the terrorist organization ISIS, for committing murders and destroying public buildings” and with the aim of creating fear or insecurity among the public, police said. No specific targets in North Macedonia were mentioned.
