French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin stated that the country’s security services are monitoring migrants from ten Central Asian countries to protect the Olympic Games from potential ISIS attacks, with some individuals under investigation.
Darmanin labeled the ISIS-Khorasan branch as the most dangerous terrorist group. In an interview with Parisien magazine published yesterday, he mentioned that no specific threats to the Olympic Games have been identified yet.
He added that to combat the ISIS threat, security services are “especially scrutinizing and monitoring all individuals from the ten former Soviet republics.” Last week, Reuters reported that French security forces have been keeping tabs on citizens from Tajikistan and other Central Asian countries in France to fill intelligence gaps.
Tajik and other Central Asian nationals have reported that French police have contacted them, requesting information about themselves and their relatives. On Tuesday, French police arrested a Russian man suspected of planning to disrupt the Olympic Games in Paris.
The ISIS-Khorasan branch, which has primarily focused its attacks in Afghanistan, has conducted deadly attacks outside Afghanistan in the past year, including in Iran and Russia. In two fatal attacks in Iran and Russia, the attackers were from Central Asian countries.
Meanwhile, the heightened security measures reflect the ongoing global concern over ISIS’s expansion and its potential threats. While French authorities are taking proactive steps to ensure the safety of the Olympic Games, the broader issue of ISIS’s reach underscores the need for international cooperation in counter-terrorism efforts.
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