Cyprus thwarts terrorist attack targeting Jewish Israelis – report

Authorities prevented a terrorist attack which was believed to have been aimed at Israeli residents of the Republic of Cyprus, it emerged on Sunday.

The perpetrators were reportedly the intelligence services, which appear to be linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the Iranian state’s armed force, Phileleftheros reported. This, the newspaper explained, is a network of terrorists, who seem to take advantage of the country’s division by sending their recruits from the north to the southern part of the island through points that are not controlled by the government.

Cyprus’ state intelligence services, in cooperation with Western partners, have been closely monitoring these movements over the past few months and the attack was recently thwarted.

According to the report, the main perpetrator was identified and was constantly monitored which contributed to the fact that he did not proceed with the attack against the Jewish Israeli targets.

However, the suspect managed to escape although police located the equipment that he would have used.

An international arrest warrant is expected to be issued against him as the case develops.

Meanwhile, an official told Phileleftheros that with this development, the country is sending a message of zero tolerance for such terrorist acts, highlighting that the island is not the ‘weak link’ due to the ‘security hole’ created by the occupied areas.

The country will not be involved in regional conflicts, the official said, noting that although it expresses dissatisfaction with the Iranian stance, Nicosia intends to keep all channels of communication and understanding open with Tehran.

The recent terrorist attack attempt has been linked with previous attempts by the same terrorist network. This includes the arrest of an Azeri man suspected of working for Iran to target Israeli nationals two years ago in Cyprus, but also other attempts in Greece and Turkey.