The FSB detained two former gang members Shamil Basayev and Khattab, who took part in the attack on Dagestan in August 1999. This was reported by the press service of the department. 

“The Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation, guided by the principle of the inevitability of punishment, continues to search for all accomplices of the armed attack of the gangs Sh. Basayev and E. Khattab in the Republic of Dagestan in August-September 1999, which killed more than 280 and injured more than 800 military personnel law enforcement agencies and civilians, and significant damage was caused to the economy of the Republic, ”the message says.

It is noted that during the joint work of the FSB and the Investigative Committee, irrefutable evidence was collected of complicity in the crime of the natives of the Stavropol Territory Surtlanbek Adzhinyazov and Ruslanbek Arslanov, who, as indicated, did not suffer punishment for the crime committed earlier.

In turn, the official representative of the UK, Svetlana Petrenko, said that both men are suspected of assaulting the lives of servicemen.

“The issue of electing a preventive measure in respect of detainees in the form of detention is being decided. In the near future they will be charged, ”it was informed on the official website of the IC.

According to the investigation, in 1999, as part of an armed group, Ajinyazov and Arslanov committed an encroachment on the lives of Russian military personnel in the territory of the Botlikh region of the Republic of Dagestan.

The Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation reminded that more than 80 people were convicted and sentenced to 3 to 19 years of imprisonment for the commission of these crimes in the period from 1999 to 2020. All of them are participants in the attack on the Botlikh and Tsumadin districts of the Republic of Dagestan.

The criminal prosecution of 7 militants, including Basayev, was terminated in connection with their death, but another 28 people are still wanted.

The detention of criminals was recorded on video. Intelligence officers burst into the room where one of the detainees allegedly lived, they handcuffed him and then escorted him to the car.

FSB activities

The day before, Russian President Vladimir Putin met with the director of the FSB of Russia, the chairman of the NAC, Alexander Bortnikov. During the meeting, Bortnikov noted that at present, the system of counter-terrorism measures is built at the federal, regional and municipal levels.

“I want to note that we managed to jointly liquidate organized bandit undergrounds in the North Caucasus, as a result of which we managed to ensure the safety of holding such large international forums and competitions in the country as the Universiade 2013 in Kazan, the 2014 Olympic Games in Sochi, the European Championship, which was held in 2018, of various other events in which representatives took part, ”he said.

According to Bortnikov, in 2010 778 crimes of a terrorist nature were committed, and in 2019 - four. In ten years, 698 terrorist crimes were prevented, including 159 terrorist acts. 

In addition, the Director of the FSB of Russia mentioned active cooperation with the relevant committees of the United Nations Security Council: the Counter-Terrorism Committee and the Executive Directorate of the CTC of the UN Security Council.

“Representatives of various Western special services and foreign states are interested in our experience. We share this information, of course, and for ourselves we are also gaining a certain experience, ”Bortnikov said.

Since 2008, in coordination with the President of the Russian Federation, work has begun on countering the ideology of terrorism in Russia, Bortnikov noted.

At the initiative of the FSB, the idea of ​​creating a single informational anti-terrorism space began, the essence of which is to combine the information that various states, special services and law enforcement authorities possess in order to use it effectively.