Russian authorities arrested three people on Sunday in the republic of Dagestan (Caucasus) accused of wanting to prepare attacks, 10 days after the attack on a concert hall near Moscow that left at least 144 dead.
“Three bandits planning to commit a series of terrorist crimes have been arrested
,” the Russian National Anti-Terrorism Committee said in a statement. The Committee specifies that these arrests took place during an operation in the city of Makhachkala, the capital of Dagestan, and that of Kaspiisk, located around ten kilometers from Makhachkala.
According to an anonymous security source cited by the
Ria Novosti
agency , two suspects were
“blocked”
in their apartment in Kaspiisk before being apprehended.
“An automatic weapon and its ammunition, as well as an improvised explosive device ready for use were found during the search of the places of arrest
,” said the Anti-Terrorism Committee, specifying that the operation had not made any victims.
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This announcement comes more than a week after the attack on Crocus City Hall in the suburbs of the Russian capital, which left at least 144 dead and 551 injured and was claimed by the jihadist organization Islamic State (IS) although the Russian authorities claim to see a Ukrainian trail there.
Twelve people were arrested after the massacre, including the four suspected attackers, who are from Tajikistan, a former Soviet republic in Central Asia where ISIS is active. On Friday evening, the Russian security services (FSB) also announced that they had arrested three
“nationals of a Central Asian country”
who were planning a bomb attack in southwest Russia.