Chinese officials said Thursday they have
smashed an international terrorist group that planned to attack an Olympic
Games football site in the eastern city of Shanghai, reported dpa. "We have obtained information that
international terrorist organizations would likely launch an attack against an
Olympic venue in the city during the Games," the official news agency
Xinhua quoted Cheng Jiulong, Shanghai Public Security Bureau deputy director,
as saying.
"We have staged raids and cracked a group of terrorists," said Cheng,
who is also head of the Shanghai security office for the Olympics.
Xinhua gave no details of the background or size of the terrorist cell, or
whether it was linked to a group named previously as a potential threat to the
Games beginning August 8.
The group had threatened to kidnap athletes and journalists attending the
Olympics in Beijing and Shanghai, officials said.
Shanghai will host 12 Olympic football matches. The city's main football
stadium has been closed for security checks since Sunday.
Police have stepped up security at sporting venues, roads leading to them and
athletes' accommodation. Security has also been increased in other cities where
Olympic events are taking place.
There have been no reports of major terrorist incidents in China in recent years.
Two bombs exploded on public buses in the south-west city of Kunming on Monday,
injuring two people. Officials said there was nothing to link the blasts to
terrorists. dpa tf ms
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