Vilnius labels last year's Ikea fire as terrorist act

Lithuanian prosecutors have classified the fire at an Ikea store in Vilnius last May as a terrorist attack and have referred the case to court, reported Xinhua, quoting Lithuanian National Video and Television (LRT) on Monday.

Arturas Urbelis, chief prosecutor at the Organised Crime and Corruption Investigation Department of the Prosecutor General's Office, told LRT that the attack was carried out by a terrorist group that may have ties to Russian special services.

The investigation found that the perpetrators were two individuals under the age of 20, including a minor. Both suspects are Ukrainian citizens, and the group was reportedly coordinated through social media and used classified messages, according to the prosecutor.

The suspects allegedly came to Lithuania from Poland and had been preparing for the attack since April. They planted an explosive device in the Ikea shop in the northern town of Siauliai on May 8 and detonated it on May 9.

Lithuanian officials arrested one suspect on May 13 last year. The perpetrators were also linked to crimes committed in Poland.

The indictment includes a civil claim for 485,000 euros for damage caused to the Ikea store.