Four men suspected of planning terrorist attacks have been arrested in western North Macedonia, Interior Minister Pance Toskovski said on December 15.
Toshkovski said the arrests were made during raids on several locations in the towns of Struga and Gostivar.
The four men are suspected of planning to organize events that could jeopardize the security of North Macedonia and other countries, Toskovski told reporters.
He added that they were suspected of being “part of terrorist organizations [and] have been under surveillance for a long time.” Those arrested are linked to religious extremist groups, he said, but did not specify what groups they were part of or what actions they planned.
“We have reasonable suspicion that they are connected to groups supporting certain extremist and religious organizations,” he said.
According to Toskovski, the goal of the four-member terrorist cell was to "indoctrinate and co-opt other individuals in the Balkans who could act accordingly toward the realization of their plans."
He added that the National Security Agency (ANB) of North Macedonia and the services of friendly foreign countries also participated in the antiterrorist operation.
The action was carried out in cooperation with partner international organizations, the minister said.
All four men are citizens of North Macedonia and were expected to face an investigating magistrate on December 15. The suspects face up to eight years in prison if convicted of planned terrorism charges.