Heavily armed terror cell 'under orders from Isis' arrested in Russia
The group was allegedly planning attacks with automatic weapons, grenades and explosives in crowded areas of Moscow
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A seven-strong suspected terror cell who are alleged to have been plotting attacks over the New Year period under orders from Isis, have been arrested in Russia.
The group were preparing to attack crowded places in Moscow, according to the FSB - Russia's domestic security and counter-terrorism agency.
Agents detained the suspects in the North Caucasus province of Dagestan, the agency said in a statement.
It added that they also seized "a large quantity of firearms and weapons (grenades and ammunition), as well as components for IEDs".
The arrests are thought to have taken place in Makhachkala, the restive region's capital.
Dagestan, which translates as "land of the mountains", is situated in Russia's turbulent North Caucasus with Chechnya and Georgia to the west, Azerbaijan to the south and the Caspian Sea to the east. It is around 100 miles closer to Iraq than it is to Moscow.
Islamic militants have repeatedly called and fought for independence from Moscow in the hope of establishing an Islamic Caliphate across the North Caucasus
As a result the republic has seen numerous bombings targeted at the Russian military stationed in the republic.
The FSB claimed to have killed the leader of the North Caucasus’s Isis branch, Rustam Magomedovich Aselderov, in Dagestan earlier this year.
The militant, also known as Abu Muhammad, pledged allegiance to Isis in 2014 and was wanted over a 2013 terrorist bomb attack in Volgograd that killed more than 30 people.
President Vladimir Putin has since said that thousands of Russian citizens and people in other ex-Soviet nations have joined Isis in Syria, where his country has waged an air campaign since September 2015.
Russian forces have targeted rebel and terrorist strongholds, in support of President Bashar al-Assad.
More than 430,000 people are estimated to have died in the conflict and 11 million Syrians are thought to have fled their homes since it began in March 2011.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments