Skopje: Five Arrested in ISIS Probe, 12 Sites Searched

North Macedonia’s Interior Ministry has released details of the Skopje operation, which we earlier reported only as a round of detentions. Five people were arrested, and police claim they dismantled an organized group tied to terrorism and illegal arms trafficking. The case matters for the neighborhood too: in its own statement, the National Security Agency says some of those arrested are in close contact with foreign terrorist fighters from North Macedonia and from the wider region.

Who carried out the raid and what was searched?

The operation was run by the Department for Combating Organized and Serious Crime, the National Security Agency, the Department for Special Police Operations and Skopje police, under the supervision of the Organized Crime and Corruption Prosecutor’s Office. Searches covered six people at a total of 12 locations in the capital. Makfax reports that the neighborhoods included Singelic, Cair and Brest, and according to that outlet the raid took place a day earlier, while the criminal complaint was filed on September 29, 2026.

What was seized?

According to the Interior Ministry’s statement, police found and confiscated:

• automatic rifles and magazines for them
• a sniper rifle and its magazine
• pistols and ammunition of various calibers
• a tactical vest and radio sets
• the official flag of the terrorist organization ISIS
• mobile phones and a larger quantity of electronic devices
• a sizable sum of money in denars and foreign currency

Makfax also lists computers used for cryptocurrency mining. The statement carried by Telegraf and Nova Makedonija says only that the searches established unauthorized use of electricity, for which the authorities are taking further measures.

What are the suspects accused of?

The main suspect is K. I. (34) from Skopje. Police say he has been active since 2023 in a group built on ISIS ideology. The Interior Ministry statement, as carried by Telegraf, reads:

“The arrested K. I. (34) began operating in 2023 within a criminal organization, a branch based on the ideological matrix of the terrorist organization ISIS, with the aim of committing crimes on the territory of our country.”

Makfax carried the continuation of the same Ministry statement, which says that, as a member of the terrorist organization ISIS, he indoctrinated young people to fulfill the aims of ISIS. Police also say he spread extremist propaganda material, acquired firearms and handled them.

The Department for Combating Terrorism, Violent Extremism and Radicalism filed a criminal complaint against K. I. for terrorism and for the illegal production, possession, brokering and trade of weapons or explosive materials. The same article of the law is cited against B. A. (24) and E. S. (30), who, the Ministry claims, formed a group with K. I. that illegally possessed and traded weapons and ammunition. Complaints have therefore been filed against three men, and the other two people arrested are not named in either statement. Guilt has not been established, and the prosecutor’s office will decide on the complaints.

What does the National Security Agency say?

The Agency described the group as a religiously radical circle linked to transnational criminal organizations, associated with violence, extortion, kidnapping, loan sharking, and trafficking in narcotics and weapons. In its words, most members are ideological followers of radical imams, and they recruit young people through religious facilities and online radicalization. It described the group’s method in one sentence:

“The indoctrination of young people by the group’s prominent members is a modus operandi that is applied continuously.”

The Agency also said some of those arrested are in close contact with foreign terrorist fighters from North Macedonia and the region, but neither the Ministry’s statement nor the Agency’s names those people or says where they are from.