Albania Transfers ISIS Terror Cell Suspect to Germany

A MEMBER of ISIS waves the group’s flag in Raqqa
(photo credit: REUTERS)
A MEMBER of ISIS waves the group’s flag in Raqqa (photo credit: REUTERS)
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Albania Transfers ISIS Terror Cell Suspect to Germany

A MEMBER of ISIS waves the group’s flag in Raqqa
(photo credit: REUTERS)
A MEMBER of ISIS waves the group’s flag in Raqqa (photo credit: REUTERS)

Albania has transferred to Germany a Tajik man accused of being part of a cell of the ISIS group that allegedly planned to attack US military facilities in Germany, prosecutors said Tuesday.

The suspect, identified only as Komron B. in line with German privacy rules, was arrested on his arrival at Frankfurt airport on Monday, federal prosecutors said in a statement.

Four other Tajiks were arrested in Germany in mid-April and their alleged leader was taken into custody in March 2019, The Associated Press reported.

Prosecutors said Komron B. and the other suspects joined ISIS in January 2019 and founded a cell in Germany on the group's instructions, initially intending to travel to Tajikistan and fight that country's government.

They then allegedly changed plans and decided to carry out attacks in Germany, either on US military facilities or on individuals - including an unidentified person living in Germany who they considered critical of Islam.

As part of their efforts to raise money for their plans and for ISIS, one of the cell's members traveled to Albania to carry out a contract killing for $40,000 but the plan failed, prosecutors added.

He and another suspect who had traveled with him then returned to Germany. Komron B. was arrested in Albania on April 29.



Vatican Cancels Pope’s Weekend Engagements as He Battles ‘Complex’ Infection 

Pedestrians walk past the statue of Pope John Paul II outside the Gemelli hospital where Pope Francis is hospitalized for tests and treatment for an infection in Rome, on February 18, 2025. (AFP)
Pedestrians walk past the statue of Pope John Paul II outside the Gemelli hospital where Pope Francis is hospitalized for tests and treatment for an infection in Rome, on February 18, 2025. (AFP)
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Vatican Cancels Pope’s Weekend Engagements as He Battles ‘Complex’ Infection 

Pedestrians walk past the statue of Pope John Paul II outside the Gemelli hospital where Pope Francis is hospitalized for tests and treatment for an infection in Rome, on February 18, 2025. (AFP)
Pedestrians walk past the statue of Pope John Paul II outside the Gemelli hospital where Pope Francis is hospitalized for tests and treatment for an infection in Rome, on February 18, 2025. (AFP)

Pope Francis, who began his fifth day in hospital on Tuesday for what doctors have described as a "complex" respiratory infection, will not take part in this weekend's Holy Year events, the Vatican said on Tuesday.

The 88-year-old pontiff has been suffering from a respiratory infection for more than a week and was admitted to Rome's Gemelli hospital on Friday.

A planned public papal audience set for Saturday had been cancelled "due to the health condition of the Holy Father", the Vatican said in a brief statement.

A papal mass scheduled for Sunday will still take place, but will be led instead by a senior Vatican official, it added.

The Vatican said on Monday that doctors had changed the pope's drug therapy for the second time during his hospital stay to tackle a "complex clinical situation". They described it as a "polymicrobial infection of the respiratory tract".

Doctors say polymicrobial diseases can be caused by a mix of viruses, bacteria and fungi.

Francis, who has been pontiff since 2013, has had influenza and other health problems several times over the past two years. As a young adult he developed pleurisy and had part of one lung removed, and in recent times has been prone to lung infections.