Under the supervision of the Kosovo Intelligence Agency [KIA], the Special Prosecution of Kosovo, and some international Intelligence Services, the Kosovo police have arrested 19 ISIL "soldiers" of Lavdrim Muhaxheri, who were coordinated focused to carry out terrorist attacks in the Balkans, but firstly in Kosovo and specifically in Albania, were the Albania-Israel soccer match for the 2018 World Cup qualifications was played.
According Albanian newspaper Zeri the first group of the arrested persons -- Bujar Brahimi, Visar Ibishi, Liriodon Morina, Burim Istrefi, Leutrim Musliu, Kenan Plakaj, and Leotrim Vojvoda -- have been accused by the Special Prosecution of Kosovo of plotting terrorist attacks. It is suspected that all of them are part of the ISIL terrorist group. They had planned to carry out terrorist attacks initially in Kosovo and then in other Balkan countries.
Special Prosecution of Kosovo said that "there is convincing evidence that the defendants, Bujar Brahimi, Visar Ibishi, Liriodon Morina, Burim Istrefi, Leutrim Musliu, Kenan Plakaj, and Leotrim Vojvoda belong to the ISIL terrorist organization. Instructed by former leader of the Albanians in Syria, Lavdrim Muhaxheri, defendant Bujar Brahimi was willingly involved in terrorist activities of that organization during the period September-October 2016".
"Kosovo Intelligence Agency arrested 19 ISIL soldiers linked to Lavdrim Muhaxheri"
Special Prosecution of Kosovo added that "they are suspected of having planned terrorist attacks, initially in Kosovo and then in other countries of the Balkans. They planned attacks on various facilities, including security institutions, with the aim of causing serious fear among the population, destabilization and destruction of basic political, constitutional, economic, and social structures in different countries, and then to establish in their territories the so-called ISIL (Islamic State of Iraq and Levant)".
Security experts have said that the fact that the number of arrested people on suspicion of planning terrorist attacks is so big in this case should serve as a wake-up call to the security institutions to cope with serious terrorism threats.
According to Behar Selimi, former director of the Kosovo Police, "if the security institutions' claims that we were dealing with a planned terrorist attack are corroborated, this means Kosovo is not facing a minor threat but rather a direct national security threat against the institutions and the citizens in general. So if the charges that we have seen about an ISIL cell in Kosovo will be confirmed during an investigation process, it is obvious that we are dealing with something serious".
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