Polish authorities on Monday announced the arrests of four Islamic militants from Tajikistan who are suspected of attempting to recruit Muslim converts to carry out terrorist attacks in the country.
Internal Border Guard officers detained the four men on Saturday as the attempted to re-enter Poland, based on intelligence provided by Poland’s Internal Security Agency (ABW).
Stanislaw Zaryn, a spokesman for the government, told reporters from the press agency Reuters that the men were “trying to recruit people who could be used to commit some kind of terrorist crimes”.
“They were inspired by ISIS (Islamic State) … but they were not a part of the organisation,” Zaryn added.
The four Tajik nationals are set to be deported from country and banned from Europe’s 26 member, visa-free Schengen Area which Poland is a part of.