Fire at a military-industrial complex enterprise in the Czech Republic, similar to a terrorist attack. The Prime Minister urgently returned to the country
A fire at the industrial facility of the Israeli concern Elbit Systems in the Czech city of Pardubice, which manufactures UAVs, electronic warfare equipment, and military training systems, is being considered by the country's authorities as a possible deliberate act related to extremist activity, reports denikn.cz.
Photo: Czech Police
The incident occurred at night: a warehouse on the enterprise's territory caught fire, after which the flames spread to another building. Firefighters managed to bring the situation under control, and according to preliminary information, there were no casualties.
Of particular concern to the authorities was the appearance in the media of a statement by an unknown group calling itself the "Earthquake Fraction." It claims responsibility for the arson and explains its actions as a protest against the production of weapons at this enterprise, allegedly intended for Israel.
The Czech Minister of Interior noted that there are signs that could indicate a terrorist nature of the incident. Therefore, it was decided to establish a crisis headquarters to coordinate actions, and also to assemble a special group involving intelligence to assess the level of threat and possible consequences.
Currently, according to the authorities, there is no information about immediate danger to residents. Nevertheless, the situation is under close control, as it may involve organized actions with political or ideological motives.
LPP Holding, the company that owns the facility, confirmed the fire and stated that it is fully cooperating with the investigation. Specialists are currently determining the exact causes of the ignition and verifying whether it was indeed an intentional arson.
Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš was scheduled to participate in a debate with Hungarian journalists close to the ruling Fidesz party in Budapest on March 20. However, after it became known that a terrorist attack might have occurred in Pardubice, he urgently returned to Prague and convened a meeting of the State Security Council.
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