Hungarian national planning terrorist attacks apprehended

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A 21-year-old Hungarian man has been taken into custody on suspicion of planning terrorist attacks in Hungary, the head of the Counter Terrorism Center (TEK) said at a press conference on Wednesday, according to a report by state news wire MTI.

Brigadier General János Hajdú said the "self-professed Islamist" was apprehended by TEK on Tuesday, after participating in chats on internet sites with strict access protocols that could be connected to the Islamic State. He added that the man had agreed in those chats to make a pipe bomb to detonate at a mass event in Hungary, and that vehicle-ramming attacks were also discussed.

Fielding questions, Hajdú said the man had already purchased materials necessary to assemble the pipe bomb.

He also confirmed that the suspect, who converted to Islam, was enrolled at a university in Budapest and lived in "conventional circumstances".

"We're talking about an entirely normal, average 21-year-old Hungarian," he said.

He said no evidence, at the moment, suggests the man had accomplices.

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