Czechs investigate fire after reports of anti-Israel group claiming responsibility

PRAGUE, March 20 (Reuters) - Czech ‌investigators are ​investigating ​an overnight fire at an industrial complex as potentially being a deliberate attack, officials said on ‌Friday, following media reports that a group protesting against ⁠Israeli weapons claimed responsibility.

Firefighters said early on Friday on X that they ‌had responded to a ‌fire at a storage hall in a complex in Pardubice, 120 km (75 miles) east of Prague. No one was ​injured in the fire, which spread to another building.

Czech news website Aktualne.cz reported that a protest group said it ⁠had set fire to a "key manufacturing hub" for Israeli weapons in Pardubice to ​end its role in the "genocide in Gaza."

Czech defence firm LPP Holding, with a location in the complex, ​confirmed a fire at one of ‌its facilities. But it said plans it had announced in 2023 to cooperate with Israeli ⁠company Elbit Systems on drone production were never implemented.

"No Israeli drones have ever been manufactured at our facility," LPP said.

After the fire, ⁠police initially said they were investigating whether it was intentional and checking ​public claims of a "concrete group," without naming it.

They later said investigators with security services were probing the incident under a section of the ‌criminal code dealing with terrorism.

"Based on what we know so far, it is likely the ‌incident may be related to a terrorist attack," Interior Minister Lubomir ⁠Metnar said.

Czech Prime Minister Andrej ‌Babis said he ​would convene a state security council meeting due to the incident.

(Reporting by Jason Hovet; Editing by Mark ‌Porter)

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