Poland nabs student suspected of planning Christmas market attack in support of ISIS

Authorities say student at Catholic University of Lublin wanted to use explosives in attack, sought to contact terror group to obtain support

WARSAW, Poland — Polish security services have detained a student suspected of preparing a “mass attack” at a Christmas market, 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 organization, he said.

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

At a press conference, Dobrzynski added that authorities had found “no traces of Russian connections” to the attacker, the TVP World news network reported.

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.

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

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.