Kosovo police announced on Thursday the arrest of 19 suspects for their involvement in an Islamic State plot to attack the Israeli national soccer team, the Associated Press reported.

Albanian security forces revealed last week that they had thwarted an attack on a World Cup qualifying match between Israel and Albania on November 12. The terror threat prompted officials to move the site of the game from the city of Shkodër to Elbasan, which is closer to Albania’s capital. Security was tripled for the Israeli team, which ultimately defeated Albania 3 – 0.

Kosovar authorities said that the suspects, one of whom has been released, reported to the self-described “commander of Albanians in Syria and Iraq,” Lavdrim Muhaxheri. Weapons, explosives, electronic tools, and a drone were retrieved from the terror cell.

The plot included a series of synchronized “terrorist attacks in Kosovo and also [an attack] against the Israeli football team and their fans during the Albania-Israel match,” Kosovo police told Reuters. Six suspects were also detained in both Albania and Macedonia.

Most of Kosovo’s ethnic Albanian majority is Muslim and largely secular. The nation, which unilaterally declared independence in 2008, has however struggled with Islamic extremism. Over 300 Kosovars are known to have fought alongside ISIS in Syria, at least 50 of whom have been killed. Police have also investigated or detained over 200 suspects in recent years for involvement with ISIS.

In July, Kosovar authorities arrested an Iranian cleric on charges of terror financing and money laundering. The move was part of a broader crackdown on foreign-funded Islamic organizations operating within Kosovo, which the government said are radicalizing youths.

[Photo: Yonatan Sindel / Flash90 ]