Poland’s security services say they have received “credible” information indicating a “high probability” of an assassination attempt against Prime Minister Donald Tusk and defence minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz.

At the time of writing, no details have been released regarding where and how the alleged attacks were expected to take place, who might be behind them, or what the source of the information was.

On Sunday morning, Jacek Dobrzyński, the spokesman for the security services, first announced that the police had received “information…regarding a possible assassination attempt” on Tusk and Kosiniak-Kamysz, who, as well as serving as defence minister, is also a deputy prime minister.

Dobrzyński revealed that the Internal Security Agency (ABW), police and State Protection Service (SOP), which provides security for high-ranking officials, would meet to discuss the potential threat.

Speaking after that meeting, interior ministry spokeswoman Karolina Gałecka confirmed that the threat had first been identified by SOP, which passed the information on to the police.

“We are taking this matter extremely seriously,” added Dobrzyński, speaking alongside her. He criticised “pseudo-experts” in the media who had expressed doubt about the announcement of a possible assassination attempt.

“We’re talking about threats directed at the most important people in the country,” he added. “This information is so serious and credible that we’ve decided to share it with you now…We are talking about a high probability that these threats will be carried out.”

Dobrzyński did not divulge any details about the nature of the attack or where the warnings had come from, but said that he would be able to provide further information once the police and security services had carried out further investigation.

Government spokesman Adam Szłapka, speaking to broadcaster TVN, acknowledged that the authorities constantly receive a “cascade of indications” regarding potential threats. However, “this signal was more disturbing than previous” ones, he added.

Szłapka also indicated that one element of the warning had come via email, but added that “it was not just an email” that had raised concern. Like Dobrzyński, he said that further information would be released in due course.

Gazeta Wyborcza, a leading daily, reports that an unnamed “official close to the prime minister” had said that the threat came from “right-wing extremists” and that the perpetrators were Poles.

Another source within the intelligence services told the newspaper that the threat was treated more seriously than others because it contained information about addresses linked to Tusk and Kosiniak-Kamysz.

Last month, police detained a 56-year-old man in the city of Przemyśl after he posted a video on social media threatening Tusk. Earlier in September, a 52-year-old man in the town of Oława was likewise arrested for making criminal threats against the prime minister online.

Also in September, the security services detained three teenagers who were accused of being part of online groups promoting neo-Nazism and violence. One of them was additionally charged with planning terrorist attacks on targets including a mosque and a school.

This week has also seen Poland facing an unprecedented security challenge after three knife attacks took place on schools, leaving one person dead and many injured.

In response, the police have since Friday carried out checks at over 64,000 locations, including many schools, and detained over 100 people, most of them teenagers found to have made threats or been in possession of weapons.

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