In the Czech Republic, authorities are investigating as a deliberate attack a stabbing that occurred on the night of 20 March at an industrial workshop in the town of Pardubice, 120 kilometres east of Prague. Officials made the announcement following media reports that a previously unknown organisation, the Earthquake Faction, had claimed responsibility for the incident. The group attributed its actions to a protest against the production of weapons for Israel at the Pardubice facility.
“Judging by the information we have, it is likely that the incident may be linked to a terrorist act,” Interior Minister Lubomir Metnar said. A crisis headquarters has been organised on his initiative. At the briefing, Metnar said there was no information about any current immediate dangers. “A joint intelligence team will also meet in the near future to assess a possible increase in the terrorist threat level,” the Czech Interior Minister added.
Police chief Martin Vondraschek said police received a report of the fire shortly after 4am. According to Vondraschek, pyrotechnic expertise, among other things, is being conducted as part of the investigation.
Czech news website Aktualne.cz wrote earlier that the group claiming responsibility for the incident said it had set fire to a “key production centre” of Israeli weapons in Pardubice to end their use “in the genocide in the Gaza Strip”.
No one was injured in the warehouse fire, but it is noted that the fire spread to another building. Czech defence company LPP Holding confirmed the fire at one of its facilities in a statement on its website and said it was cooperating with authorities. “We will not make assumptions about the causes or circumstances of the incident and await the official findings of the investigation,” LPP said.
In 2023, LPP Holding announced plans to collaborate with Israel’s Elbit Systems to produce drones, Reuters noted.
The company also produces unmanned systems, including those supplied to Ukraine. In December 2025, LPP Holding showed a Narwhal cruise missile with a range of more than 600 kilometres, which was planned to be handed over to the Ukrainian Armed Forces.