Albania has moved Saturday's World Cup European Group G qualifier with Israel from the northern city of Shkoder to a venue near the capital Tirana due to security concerns, the Israeli Football Association said on Tuesday.
Israel's counter-terrorism bureau issued a statement saying that a number of people identified as having links to Islamic State militants had been arrested "in the Balkans" over the past week on the suspicion that they were planning attacks.
It said the Albania-Israel soccer fixture was one of the intended targets of the detained suspects and others connected to them, and advised Israeli fans not to travel to the match, citing a "Level 2... high, concrete threat".
Israel Radio said earlier that Albanian security forces had made at least four arrests and that a security detail that always accompanies the Israeli national team abroad would be beefed up.
