Russia’s FSB today arrested three suspected terrorists during a major operation in the southern region of Dagestan.
Initial unconfirmed reports citing law enforcement officials linked the suspects to shootings at Moscow’s Crocus City Hall concert venue that left at least 143 people dead.
The detained men were “planning a number of terrorist crimes” for fear of more attacks, Russian officials said.
Smoke was seen coming from an apartment in the city of Kaspiysk before suspects were taken into custody.
A major anti-terrorism operation was underway here and in residential areas of the regional capital Makhachkala.
Automatic weapons, ammunition and “ready-to-use” improvised explosive devices were found, according to Russia’s National Anti-Terrorism Committee.
The three detainees came from a Central Asian state and were “directly related” to the terrorists who staged the attack in Moscow, according to Telegram channel Before Everyone.
Smoke was seen coming from an apartment in the city of Kaspiysk before suspects were taken into custody
Initial unconfirmed reports citing law enforcement linked the suspects to shootings at Moscow’s Crocus City Hall concert venue
The four main suspects in Moscow are all from Tajikistan and, according to Western sources, their strike was the work of an ISIS supporter.
No casualties were reported during today’s FSB storm.
According to some reports, further operations in Dagestan were underway.
Russia is on high alert for further atrocities after the Crocus City Hall massacre on March 22.
“Security services have arrested three bandits who were plotting a number of terrorist crimes,” the commission said.
“During the inspection of the places where the criminals were held, automatic weapons, ammunition and a ready-to-use improvised explosive device were found.”
Previously, an anti-terrorism regime had been declared in Makhachkala and Kaspiysk, giving law enforcement authorities the right to conduct searches, check cars and block internet communications.
Russia is on high alert for further atrocities after the Crocus City Hall massacre on March 22
The three detainees came from a Central Asian state and were ‘directly related’ to the terrorists who staged the attack in Moscow
The terrorist threat in the heart of Europe has reached new heights after the attack in Moscow
“The necessary operational search activities and investigations continue,” the committee said.
FSB chief Alexander Bortnikov vowed to track down Russians who fought Vladimir Putin for volunteer paramilitary groups in Ukraine.
These partisans gained a territorial foothold by seizing land in Russia’s Belgorod region.
Putin has labeled them “traitors” and ordered Bortnikov to hunt them down and kill them – to punish them “without statute of limitations, wherever they are.”
The head of the FSB said today: ‘We know by name the organizers of…actions on our territory.
“We will do everything necessary to find and punish these villains.”
The terror threat in the heart of Europe has reached new heights after the attack in Moscow, officials warned. Additional safety measures have been put in place as English football fans prepare to fly to Germany for Euro 2024 this summer.
Islamic State Khorasan (ISIS-K), an offshoot of ISIS, last week claimed responsibility for the deadly attack on the Crocus City Hall entertainment complex in the Russian capital, which massacred nearly 140 people and injured hundreds.
In the aftermath of the attack, German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser issued a stark warning about the threat posed to her country, saying it had “taken dangers to a new level.”
It takes place ahead of the UEFA European Football Championship, which kicks off in just 75 days, with British police deployed to Germany to protect fans.
Germany will be on high alert for this major international event, Ms. Faeser said this week, and temporary border controls will be introduced “to prevent potential perpetrators of violence from entering the country.”
