Czech Police Arrest 'Breivik Sympathiser'

A man feared to have been plotting an Anders Breivik-style massacre has been arrested in the Czech Republic, it has emerged.

The 29-year-old, believed to be a sympathiser of the Norwegian mass killer, was arrested over a stash of weapons, explosives, a detonator and an automatic rifle found at his home.

He is accused of endangering the public and of illegal arms possession.

He was arrested at his apartment, in the eastern city of Ostrava, after about 80 building residents were evacuated.

The Czech news agency CTK reports that the man, who has not been named, had used Breivik's name in email communication.

Police would not comment further on the apparent Breivik link.

"In a home search we've found computer equipment, weapons, ammunition and explosives," CTK quoted Ostrava criminal police head Radovan Vojta as saying.

Pictures on CTK's website show the items seized, including what appears to be a police uniform.

Mr Vojta said police bomb experts were examining the seized material. He added: "The components of the explosive device were operational."

It was not immediately known who the man may have been targeting, but Mr Vojta said that the investigation was in its early stages.

The suspect has reportedly been convicted five times in the past on explosives-related charges.

He was handed a six-month suspended sentence in 2010 for exploding a homemade bomb at an Ostrava pumping station.

On July 22, 2011, Breivik set off a car bomb outside government buildings in Oslo, killing eight people, before going to Utoya island and shooting dead another 69 people, mostly teenagers.

Mr Vojta said the suspect was believed to have sympathised with Breivik because he was using his name online.

Neighbours told the CTK news agency that the man was not a right-wing extremist but was "mentally unhinged".

Ostrava is the Czech Republic's third city and lies near the border with Poland. Called the "steel heart of the republic", it was a candidate for European Capital of Culture 2015.