PARDUBICE — Czech authorities launched an investigation into a predawn fire at a LPP Holding facility in Pardubice on March 20, 2026, treating it as a terrorist attack. The fire, which authorities said was deliberately set, occurred at approximately 4 a.m. at the facility located about 100 kilometers east of Prague.

The Earthquake Faction claimed responsibility for the fire and stated that the facility was a key production center for Israeli weapons connected to genocide against Palestine, Iran, and Lebanon. National police chief Martin Vondrasek said that shortly after the fire was reported, messages were sent to several Czech journalists from an email address registered in the same domain as Earthquake Faction.

"We are dealing with all available information. There is a probable connection with a terrorist attack," Interior Minister Lubomir Metnar said in a post on X. Prime Minister Andrej Babis said that the fire is being investigated as an act of terrorism.

LPP Holding confirmed in a statement on its website that a fire had broken out at one of its facilities. The company said it would not speculate about the causes or circumstances of the fire and reported that nobody was injured in the incident.

LPP Holding developed a cruise missile called the Narwhal with a range of up to 680 kilometers. Combat testing of the Narwhal cruise missile was planned to take place in Ukraine in January-February 2026, with serial production potentially starting soon afterward.

A cooperation planned in 2023 between LPP Holding and Israeli firm Elbit Systems did not occur because a tender was canceled, and LPP Holding has never produced Israeli drones. A call placed to LPP Holding after regular business hours went unanswered.