'Christmas market ISIS 'mass terror attack' plot' foiled in Poland

A planned Islamic State mass terror attack at a Christmas market in Poland has been foiled, according to officials. 

Polish security services have detained a student suspected of preparing the attack, Jacek Dobrzynski, a spokesperson for Poland's special services, said on Tuesday.

Mateusz W., a student at the Catholic University of Lublin, wanted to commit an attack using explosives and planned to join a terrorist organisation, he said.

'The aim of the crime was to intimidate many people and support the Islamic State. During the investigation, Internal Security Agency officers seized data carriers and items related to Islam,' Dobrzynski wrote on platform X.

The prosecutor's office charged Mateusz W. with 'undertaking preparatory actions to carry out a terrorist attack that could have resulted in the death or serious injury of many people.'

'Furthermore, he took steps to establish contact with a terrorist organization, including obtaining its support in carrying out the attack,' the statement said.

During a press conference, Dobrzynski said: 'The man was very fascinated by Islam, sought to establish contacts with the Islamic State, and was preparing an attack in Poland, in one of the cities during Christmas market. 

The suspect, he said, was apprehended in his apartment in Lublin, eastern Poland, in November. 

Dobrzynski added that Internal Security Agency officers confiscated data carriers and items related to Islam. 

The official declined to comment on which city the attack was being planned in order 'not to cause panic'. 

Authorities did not immediately give further details about the suspect, who was placed in detention for a preliminary period of three months. 

In mid-June, Polish authorities charged three 19-year-old men accused of stockpiling pyrotechnic materials and plotting terrorist attacks, including a suspected plan to target a school in the northern city of Olsztyn.

Citing that case, Dobrzynski said: 'You are familiar with the issue from Olsztyn, now we have another example of preparing an attack before Christmas. 

'We are shocked by the incident in Sydney, we are shocked by the attacks that occurred in previous years before Christmas in other European countries. Let's remain vigilant. 

The development comes after the attack at Bondi Beach in Australia, where suspects, a father and son, who are said to have pledged allegiance to ISIS, allegedly opened fire, killing at least 15 people.