In Moscow a cell of the banned organization “Islamic State” was opened, which consisted of seven people. The activities of the attackers were stopped by the efforts of the FSB, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Russian Guard and the Investigative Committee.
According to the UK, the cell has existed since November 2016.
"On the territory of one of the districts of the Moscow region, the suspects entered into a criminal conspiracy to create and participate in the activities of the secret cell of the international terrorist organization Islamic State, banned in the territory of the Russian Federation," the statement said.
The FSB said that foreign emissaries were in charge of the terrorist cell. According to the Public Relations Center of the Ministry, citizens of Russia, as well as people from the Central Asian region and Transcaucasia, participated in the activities of the organization.
“It has been established that members of the cell actively campaigned for new supporters and organized robberies in different regions of Russia,” the FSB informs.
- © Frame: FSB video / RIA News
It is noted that during the detention of the attackers found firearms and ammunition, communications, electronic media, as well as extremist literature.
According to the investigators, the group members were engaged in agitation and involved new supporters in the organization. They also called for attacks on law enforcement officers.
The Investigation Committee conducts searches and other actions, the purpose of which is to identify all members of the organization. Later, the court will choose a measure of restraint in relation to the detained members of the IG cell.
Note that in 2019, the FSB has repeatedly reported on the suppression of the activities of terrorists, including supporters of the "Islamic State".
So, on April 26, the FSB detained an IG fighter in Nalchik. The man, previously a member of the Baksan gang, planned to carry out a resonant terrorist attack with an improvised explosive device.
Law enforcement officers found an explosive device in itself, extremist literature and other evidence of involvement in the preparation of the explosion.
“According to available data, the detainee was previously part of the so-called Baksan gang, at the direction of the ringleaders of which he was engaged in the manufacture of improvised explosive devices similar to those seized used in the attack on the Baksan hydropower station in 2010 and undermining law enforcement officers in the CBD from 2009 to 2012 ", - said the agency.
And on April 23, in Makhachkala and Grozny, the FSB defused a whole IG cell. Before the detention, the men planned to attack the police in Kaspiysk and Grozny. The criminals intended to use a bomb as a weapon, the production scheme of which was found on the Internet, as well as a quadcopter.
“I began to prepare for the fact that I would make an armed attack on DPS or MIA officers. I was preparing an attack plan, I wanted to buy a quadrocopter and install a special trigger on it, as they do in IG, ”said one of the detainees.
One of the most resonant was the incident in Tyumen. There, on the night of April 12-13, a counter-terrorist operation was carried out, during which they eliminated two members of the IS - they refused to surrender their weapons and opened fire on law enforcement officers.
As a result, they were eliminated. There are no dead or injured among law enforcement officers or civilians.
At the same time, since 2010, the number of terrorist crimes in Russia has decreased by almost 100 times, said FSB Director Alexander Bortnikov.
“The complex of adopted organizational, preventive and forceful measures made it possible to reduce the number of committed crimes of a terrorist nature almost a hundred times: from 779 in 2010 to nine in 2018.” he said on April 18.
Moreover, 35 such crimes were prevented. The number of prevented terrorist attacks in 2018 is 19, Secretary of the Russian Security Council Nikolai Patrushev said in March of this year.
“Last year alone, 35 crimes of a terrorist nature were prevented, including 19 terrorist attacks,” he noted.
However, Patrushev stressed that terrorists are constantly improving their methods of activity, and therefore it is necessary to maintain a high level of readiness.
“We are constantly checking our vigilance, so it’s premature to talk about mitigating anti-terrorism measures. The norms should correspond to real-life challenges and threats, ”he said.
* “Islamic State” (IG) - the organization is recognized as terrorist by the decision of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation dated December 29, 2014.