“Some of them justified the conduct of terrorist activities”: security forces detained 49 Islamists in 22 regions of the Russian Federation

Almost 50 Islamists who transferred funds to militants in Syria were detained in 22 regions of Russia.

This was reported by the FSB Public Relations Center.

According to the department, security forces, in cooperation with Rosfinmonitoring and the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation, liquidated the international resource supply channel for the international terrorist organization “Katiba Tawhid wal-Jihad”*, which was coordinated by MTO emissaries located in the SAR.

“As a result of the activities carried out in 22 Russian regions, 49 members of a terrorist network involved in the collection and transfer of funds for the needs of militants operating in Syria were detained.

In addition, some of them, using Internet resources, spread radical Islamic ideology in the Muslim Ummah of the Russian Federation and justified terrorist activities,” the report says.

It is clarified that the investigative authorities have opened criminal cases.

Last week, in the Samara region, the illegal activities of a secret cell of the international terrorist organization Hayat Tahrir al-Sham** were suppressed, whose members transferred funds to the accounts of militants located in the terrorist-controlled Idlib de-escalation zone of the Syrian Arab Republic.

A criminal case was opened against them for “promoting terrorist activities.”

In early February, in Moscow and Krasnoyarsk, security forces defeated the Katiba Tawhid wal-Jihad cell of Islamists, detaining four people.

Terrorist accomplices recruited and transported militants to Syria and called for terrorist attacks.

At the end of December, four foreign citizens involved in financing members of Katiba Tawhid wal-Jihad were detained in Yekaterinburg.

Moreover, during a search at their place of residence, items indicating adherence to the ideology of radical Islam were found and confiscated.

The FSB also noted that a close relative of one of the detainees was familiar with members of the North Caucasus bandit underground, including the Arab terrorist Khattab, who was eliminated by Russian security forces in the spring of 2002.

Counter terrorism

On February 21, FSB officers detained a native of Yaroslavl, who, on instructions from the Ukrainian special services, was to carry out a car bombing near one of the administrative buildings.

A criminal case has been opened against him under the articles “Terrorist Act” and “High Treason”.

On February 20, a 33-year-old resident of Los Angeles with dual citizenship (Russia and the USA) was detained in Yekaterinburg.

The girl is involved in providing financial assistance to the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

Since February 2022, she has been raising money for tactical medicine, equipment, weapons and ammunition for the Ukrainian military.

A criminal case has been opened against her under the article “Treason.”

On February 19, in the Zaporozhye region, security forces prevented a terrorist attack against one of the local political figures.

The activities of Russian citizen Vitaly Dyatlenko, recruited by the SBU, were discovered and suppressed.

He offered armed resistance to security officials and was neutralized by retaliatory actions.

On February 13, security forces prevented the explosion of a gas distribution station in the Leningrad region.

The perpetrator of the crime, who turned out to be a citizen of Ukraine, acting on instructions from the SBU, was detained.

Five ready-to-use improvised explosive devices were confiscated from him, which he tried to plant at a pipeline junction.

* “Katiba Tawhid wal-Jihad” is an organization recognized as terrorist by decision of the Moscow District Military Court dated 06/05/2019.

** “Jabhat al-Nusra” (“Hayat Tahrir al-Sham”, “Jabhat Fatah al-Sham”, “Al-Nusra Front”) - the organization was recognized as terrorist by the decision of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation dated December 29, 2014.