Bulgarian police uncover weapons cache linked to 4 Hamas suspects arrested in December

Bulgarian police have uncovered a stash of weapons linked to four suspected Hamas members arrested in Germany and the Netherlands in December, according to German media reports and AFP sources.

Three suspected members of the Palestinian terror group were arrested in Germany and one in the Netherlands on December 14 on suspicion of making preparations for an attack against Jewish targets in Europe.

German prosecutors said at the time that the four men had been gathering weapons to be “kept in a state of readiness in view of potential terrorist attacks against Jewish institutions in Europe.”

Der Spiegel magazine reported yesterday that police had found photos of pistols, ammunition and magazines on a mobile phone belonging to one of the men, which led investigators to a stash of weapons buried under a pine tree in southern Bulgaria.

German sources confirm to AFP that a stash of weapons has been found in Bulgaria.

Bulgarian prosecutors and the interior ministry decline to confirm the report.

The Prime Minister’s Office said in January that the suspects were part of a Hamas network of operatives in Europe commanded by terror leaders in Lebanon.