Argentina arrests three from Lebanon, Syria in Maccabi Games terror plot

Argentinian police have arrested three people on suspicion of planning a terrorist attack at the Pan American Maccabi Games in Buenos Aires.

Three men from Syria and Lebanon were arrested in Buenos Aires and Avellaneda this week, the Argentine Federal Police (PFA) said.

The suspects were waiting for a 35-kilogram package to arrive from Yemen for their planned attack, the police said, adding that the package was addressed to the home of one of the suspects.

Why would the Jewish community in Buenos Aires be the target of a planned terror attack?

The Pan American Maccabi Games are currently taking place in Buenos Aires. They are expected to be attended by some 4,000 Jewish athletes and members of Jewish communities from North, Central, and South America.

The police said they were paying extra attention to the security of the event following email threats and reports of suspicious people lurking around the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires.

In October, an Iraqi national who was being investigated for falsifying Argentinian documents was arrested outside of the Israeli embassy while having phone conversations the same week the embassy received a series of bomb threats.

One of the three suspects arrived in Argentina from Syria. He was traveling with additional passports from Venezuela and Colombia, Argentinian media outlets reported.

The other two suspects arrived from Lebanon. All three suspects arrived on separate international flights to Buenos Aires, the reports said.

Source » jpost.com