“15 crimes were prevented and 30 cells were eliminated”: NAC spoke about the fight against terrorism in the North Caucasus

Since the beginning of 2019, 15 terrorist attacks have been prevented in the North Caucasus. This was stated by the chairman of the National Anti-Terrorism Committee (NAC) and the director of the FSB, Alexander Bortnikov, opening a meeting of the NAC in Pyatigorsk.

“Since the beginning of this year, 15 terrorist crimes have been prevented in the district and 30 cells have been eliminated, whose members were intent on committing terrorist attacks in places of mass presence of people, at religious organizations, as well as against law enforcement officials,” Bortnikov said during his speech.

According to the head of the FSB, measures taken by law enforcement agencies have significantly reduced the number of terrorist crimes in the North Caucasus Federal District. In 2017, there were 15, in 2018 - six, since the beginning of this year - two.

At the same time, Bortnikov noted that supporters of international terrorist organizations began to more actively disseminate the prohibited ideology. In addition, extremists pay more attention to involving youth in illegal activities and creating conspiracy structures.

As the head of the FSB noted, in this situation, the prevention of terrorism is becoming increasingly important, which is carried out by regional executive bodies in coordination with the anti-terrorist commissions.

Speaking about preventive measures, Bortnikov noted the development and dissemination of anti-terrorism content in the media and the Internet. He specified that in total more than 75 thousand materials were published, including about 400 videos with the participation of people who refused terrorist activities.

The meeting of the NAC in Pyatigorsk was attended by members of the committee, the plenipotentiary of the President of the Russian Federation in the North Caucasus Federal District, chairmen of several anti-terrorist commissions in the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, heads of interested federal executive bodies, representatives of law enforcement agencies and special services.

Terrorist cells uncovered in 17 regions

Earlier it became known that in 2019 the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, together with the FSB officers, revealed the concealed cells of the Islamic State terrorist organization * in 17 regions of the country.

This is stated in the material of the head of the Main Directorate for Combating Extremism of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, Major General of Police Oleg Ilinykh. The article was published in the journal Police of Russia, the official publication of Russian law enforcement agencies.

According to the Ilyins, the activity of the conserved cells of the IG was prevented in the Krasnodar, Stavropol and Krasnoyarsk territories, Moscow, Astrakhan, Vladimir, Moscow, Rostov, Samara, Saratov, Tyumen regions, the republics of Dagestan, Adygea, Kabardino-Balkaria, Chechnya, Khanty-Mans Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Districts.

In addition, in the first half of the year, 14 facts of the organization of an extremist community and 90 cases of the activity of such groups were revealed.

The material also contains data on the disclosure in the first half of 2019 of 972 crimes of a terrorist nature. For comparison, in 2018 there were 1679, which is almost 10% lower than the previous year. Ilyinykh noted that today law enforcement agencies have the necessary resources to successfully counter such threats.

Operation in Kabardino-Balkaria

Russian law enforcement agencies regularly report successful operations against terrorists. The last major incident of this kind was recorded in Kabardino-Balkaria. In mid-September, FSB and MVD officers neutralized two militants planning to carry out a terrorist attack on the territory of the republic.

The siloviki learned that in one of the houses of the city of Chegem militants and their accomplices could be hiding. Law enforcement officers surrounded the house and invited the attackers to surrender, but they opened fire in response. During the ensuing shootout, both attackers were eliminated. Moreover, none of the security forces or civilians were injured.

A search was conducted in the house of extremists, during which the security forces discovered a makeshift explosive device, machine guns and ammunition. Later, the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation announced the initiation of criminal proceedings under several articles.

* “Islamic State” (ISIS, ISIS) - the organization was recognized as terrorist by decision of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation of December 29, 2014.