As a result of the continuous activities to prevent and suppress the threats of terrorism, on 23.01.2025, in a coordinated action of the National Security Agency, the Department for Suppression of Organized and Serious Crime and the Department for Special Police Operations, and under the leadership of a competent public prosecutor from the Basic Public Prosecutor's Office for Prosecution of Organized Crime and Corruption, searches of homes and other premises at five locations in Skopje and Gostivar were carried out. During the searches, several items were found and seized, including an automatic rifle, a pistol, propaganda material, telephones, computer equipment and other items that will be subject to further forensic examinations. Four people were deprived of their liberty, for whom the Department for Suppression of Organized and Serious Crime filed a criminal complaint with the competent prosecutor for the crime of "terrorist organization", provided for and punishable under Article 394 a. One of the individuals was caught in a police operation in 2015, and another was serving a prison sentence for preparing terrorist attacks.



There are grounds for suspicion that the first defendant created a terrorist cell in which the other three criminally charged individuals acted with active participation. The intention of the members of the terrorist cell was to carry out a terrorist act against civilian or so-called soft targets, i.e. public facilities on the territory of the Republic of North Macedonia with the intention of creating a sense of insecurity or fear among citizens. The cell acted from the position of an ideological matrix of the well-known terrorist organization ISIS and to achieve its intention, the first defendant formed several groups on the social network Telegram, in which he shared previously purchased and translated ISIS propaganda material and recruited new members, tried to acquire firearms, and also acquired instructions for making improvised explosive devices that they would then use to carry out terrorist attacks.


The remaining members were part of Telegram groups, where translated materials that had previously been taken from official media used by the terrorist organization ISIS were shared.