Cyprus is living in a state of heightened vigilance. An incident on Saturday morning in Larnaca proves that nothing is left to chance: a suitcase was spotted near the residence of the chief rabbi, and an immediate preventive alert was sounded.
Officers rushed to the scene and conducted a thorough check. The suitcase turned out to belong to someone visiting a nearby sports centre. Nothing suspicious was found — but the rapid response demonstrates the new level of readiness.
At Akrotiri, in the first days following the drone attack, members of a TV news crew were screened while filming near a vessel maintenance area. Officers from the Limassol Police Directorate carried out an identity check discreetly and without incident.
From 2 March, just hours after the strike, police leadership issued internal instructions for “enhanced operational readiness.” Special attention was directed at installations linked to American and Israeli interests, as well as checkpoints.
Static patrols are now in place at critical locations, while regular patrols cover the rest. Dozens of officers previously assigned to the conference centre — following the postponement of Cyprus’s Council of Europe presidency events — have been redeployed on patrols across the districts.
Even more revealing is the information about a “hidden alert” that was in place before the attack even occurred. According to reports, security services had intelligence about an impending drone operation. During the same period, a couple — a 28-year-old Azerbaijani man and a 27-year-old Estonian woman — was placed under surveillance after photographing Israeli-linked installations in Paphos. They were arrested on 26 February as terrorism suspects, with the young man reportedly linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
