Czechs detain fifth suspect over arson attack on drone factory

PRAGUE, March 30 (Reuters) - A fifth person was detained in connection with an arson attack on an optics and drone factory in the Czech Republic, a public prosecutor said on Monday.

Police said on Saturday they had detained a fourth suspect over the March 20 fire, for which a previously unknown pro-Palestinian activist group had claimed responsibility. Czech police said they were searching for other suspects.

In a statement on Monday, the Prague high public prosecutor's office said another person was detained on Sunday, but it did not provide details.

Police had earlier detained an Egyptian man and a Czech woman and charged them with terrorism. Another person, a U.S. citizen, was detained in neighbouring Slovakia in relation to the attack.

A lawyer for the Egyptian said in a statement on Saturday released through Czech news website www.denikreferendum.cz that the suspect, identified only as M, had an alibi for the time of the attack.

The website said a request filed for taking the Egyptian man and Czech woman into custody, provided to them by the lawyer, showed the two had denied taking part in the attack.

The fourth suspect also denied participation in any illegal activity, news agency CTK cited a judge as saying on Saturday.

The group that claimed responsibility said in a statement online that the targeted company was developing weapons for Israel. The company, LPP Holding, announced plans to cooperate with Israeli group Elbit Systems in 2023, but says those plans were never implemented.

LPP's production includes drones that are exported to Ukraine, which has been fighting Russian forces since Moscow's 2022 full-scale invasion.

(Reporting by Jason HovetEditing by Bernadette Baum)