Terror plot against Jews in Athens: Pakistanis tried recruiting Kurds and Azeris, more arrests expected

The National Intelligence Service (EYP) of Greece is working at full throttle after a terror plot against Jews in Athens was uncovered, leading to the arrest of two Pakistanis, with more arrests expected.

The two arrested Pakistanis, identified as 27-year-old Hayder and 29-year-old Hussein, were arrested by the Anti-Terrorism Service for planning out an attack on a Jewish restaurant-synagogue in the central Athens neighbourhood of Psyrri.

The operation, which has the code name "Hyacinthos", was launched by the Ministry of Defence last August following information about a possible attempt to create a terrorist cell in Greece.

The Israeli Mossad were also involved, providing expertise and important information, mainly about the "mastermind", a 30-year-old Pakistani, who was allegedly giving directions from Iran.

According to EYP sources, cited by AMNA, in addition to the two Pakistanis who were arrested as members of the terrorist group, eight more of their compatriots, who had contacts with them, were arrested for administrative deportation as they were in Greece illegally.

The eight Pakistanis have come under the microscope of the Greek authorities because they come from the same region of Pakistan as the two accused and their 30-year-old leader in Iran and had close relations with Hayder and Hussein.

Hussein:

Hayder:

The investigations are mainly focused on 3-4 of them in order to establish whether and to what extent they are involved in the terror plot. In fact, information indicates that new arrests are imminent.

At the same time, from the decoding of the conversations between the two arrested for terrorism with the 30-year-old in Iran, by the special analysts of the EYP, as well as the information provided by the Mossad, new information is constantly coming to light about the movements of those involved.

According to the above sources, the main execution arm of the cell in Greece was allegedly the 27-year-old Hayder, arrested in Zakynthos, and then the 29-year-old Hussein, arrested in Sparta, who are described as "extremely dangerous, without moral qualms, who would do anything for money."

From the conversations that have been deciphered so far, it appears that the 30-year-old had promised them that after the massacre he would give them 15,000 euros for each dead person, while assuring them that he had ensured them a safe way to escape from Greece to Iran.

Once in Iran, they planned to open their own restaurant.

Conversations between the Iranian-based leader and 27-year-old Hayder in Zakynthos, which were leaked, appear that the aim was to have as many dead as possible from the strike at the Jewish restaurant.

Among the things they said was how they would strike. At first they talked about explosives, but Hayder said he did not have any.

He then mentioned that he could find firearms, but he was afraid.

The same EYP sources characterise the case as extremely serious and it was upgraded when they requested information from the Mossad about the "mastermind" in Iran.

As the Israeli Intelligence Service informed, the 30-year-old is known and is considered one of the main recruiters in the executive arm of an Iranian paramilitary organisation, which has been operating since 1979 and carries out strikes against Israeli targets abroad.

For these actions it recruits people of other nationalities, mainly Pakistanis, Kurds and Azeris, while at times such members have been arrested in various countries.

In this case, both the recruiter and the two arrested hail from the crime-prone Sargodha region of Pakistan and knew each other beforehand.

The 30-year-old leader, according to the EYP and as it appears from the information given by the Mossad, is a member of a particularly cruel family and his father is held in Pakistani prisons for murder, while his brother is also wanted for other serious crimes.

The 27-year-old and the 29-year-old have been in Greece illegally for about four years, they were hosted in various houses of their compatriots and moved from place to place, where they were mainly employed in agricultural work.

In Athens, they were hosted in two houses of their compatriots, who are also being investigated by the Anti-Terrorist Service.

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