Seven detained over Czech ‘terror’ arson

PRAGUE: Czech police said Tuesday seven people had been detained over an arson attack at an arms company last month that authorities are investigating as a potential anti-Israeli terrorist attack.
The fire in the central city of Pardubice, which did not cause injuries, broke out on March 20 at a warehouse in a business park used by LPP Holding, which develops and produces drones and other military equipment.
Police are probing a terror link after a group claimed responsibility for the arson at what it called “a key production center for Israeli weapons,” in emails to Czech media.
“Seven people have been detained so far, including five in the Czech Republic who are in pre-trial custody,” Czech police spokesman Jakub Vincalek told AFP.
Two people are in custody in Bulgaria and Slovakia in connection with the case, based on a European arrest warrant, Vincalek added.
“We are waiting for them to be handed over to the Czech Republic,” he said.
Czech police are still cooperating on the case with “partners in several European countries,” Vincalek added, without giving further details.
Local media said one of the suspects detained in the Czech Republic is an American man, while the suspect detained in Slovakia is an American woman.
The suspect in Bulgarian custody is also not Czech, media reports said.
Two years ago, LPP was planning a cooperation project with Israeli company Elbit Systems, but its officials said this never materialized.
LPP told Czech public TV that “our company has never started to produce any Israeli drones.”
Several Czech media outlets said they had received an email from a group called The Earthquake Faction claiming responsibility for the attack.
Elbit has been the target of attacks across Europe in recent years, including in Britain, Germany and Sweden.
LPP also produces drones for Ukraine, battling a Russian invasion since 2022.
The Czech Republic, an EU and NATO member of 10.9 million people, is a staunch ally of Israel, which launched strikes on Iran in February alongside the United States.