This article was originally published by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and is reprinted with permission.
Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) says it has detained 19 members of a terrorist group that was allegedly planning attacks in the North Caucasus.
The FSB said in a statement on February 17 that the roundup of suspects began on February 1 in the regions of Rostov, Krasnodar, Karachai-Cherkessia, and the Russian-controlled Ukrainian Black Sea region of Crimea.
The suspects are allegedly members of an extremist group known as At-Takfir wal-Hijra.
“[The group’s] ideology is known as takfirism that justifies radical measures against so-called infidels, including Muslims, and its goal is to create a caliphate,” the FSB statement said.
According to the FSB, its officers found weapons, ammunition, handmade explosives, and extremist literature in the detained suspects’ possession.
“The detained individuals were charged with the organization of and participation in the activities of an extremist group. Ten of the suspects were sent to pretrial detention,” the FSB statement said.
At-Takfir wal-Hijra was labeled as extremist and banned in Russia in September 2010.
