Russia ‘foils’ terror attack on ‘crowded place’ days after 144 murdered in Moscow | World | News
Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) claims to have prevented “a terrorist attack during a mass gathering” in Stavropol Krai in southwestern Russia on Friday, according to Russian state-owned media.
The FSB claimed to have detained three citizens from an unnamed Central Asian country who allegedly planned to detonate a bomb at a mass gathering, according to TASS.
“Components of an improvised explosive device, chemicals, and munitions were seized from the detainees at their place of residence,” the FSB said, cited by TASS.
Daily Express US could not independently verify these claims.
The announcement comes almost a week after several armed individuals opened fire at a Crocus City Hall concert venue at the Moscow region of Krasnogorsk, killing more than 140 people.
ISIS-K, an affiliate branch of the Islamic State terrorist group that encompasses parts of Afghanistan and Pakistan, has claimed responsibility for the attack.
Russia‘s FSB said it had arrested 11 people the day after the attack, including four suspected gunmen.
The four men, identified as citizens of Tajikistan, appeared in court in Moscow on terrorism charges and pleaded guilty to charges of a “terror attack committed by a group of individuals resulting in a person’s death”, according to TASS.
The Kremlin, however, have insisted that Ukraine and the West were partially responsible, with President Vladimir Putin claiming that the suspects planned to flee to Ukraine.
Ukraine and the US has rejected the Kremlin’s unsubstantiated claims, with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accusing Putin of trying to use this attack to justify his armed force’s aggression in its ongoing war with Ukraine.
The US embassy in Moscow had warned its citizens earlier this month to avoid large gatherings in the Russian captal “over the next 48 hours” as it was monitoring reports that extremists have “imminent” plans to target these places.
But Putin has reportedly dismissed US warnings about a terrorist attack just three days before the attack, denouncing the warning “blackmail” and “provocative statements.”
“All this resembles outright blackmail and the intention to intimidate and destabilize our society,” Putin said, according to Russian state-owned media.
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