Larnaca CID believes it has prevented attacks on Cypriot soil after arresting two men, aged 32 and 38, on suspicion of terrorism and finding significant quantities of explosive-making materials at two properties in the city.
Investigators are working to establish whether the suspects have accomplices and where they sourced the materials. Among the chemicals found is ammonium nitrate, which a police source told Phileleftheros may have come from the Cypriot market.
Both suspects are being held on eight-day detention orders expiring next Saturday. The 32-year-old, who is legally resident in Cyprus, was living with his wife and child in an apartment in Kamares, Larnaca, where items that can be used to manufacture explosives were found. A first large quantity of materials was also discovered last Thursday at a property at Governor’s Beach, which investigators believe is connected to the same man. The 38-year-old is believed to have been in Cyprus illegally and is thought to have entered through the occupied north. Both men were under surveillance for several days before being arrested in a coordinated operation last Thursday.
All evidence, described as extensive, is being classified and will be sent for specialist examination to identify the types of chemicals involved and to check for the DNA of any other individuals.
It is not the first time Cypriot police have uncovered ammonium nitrate linked to a suspected terrorist plot. In May 2015, a 26-year-old Lebanese national was arrested in Agios Anargyroi, Larnaca, after 8.2 tonnes of ammonium nitrate were found in the basement of his home. He was found to be a member of Hezbollah who had planned to harm the interests of foreign states in Cyprus through terrorist attacks.
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