Alwaght- Russia has arrested two supporters of ISIS terrorist group who were planning a terror attack on the Far Eastern island of Sakhalin, TASS news agency cited the country's Federal Security Service (FSB) as saying on Wednesday.
The FSB said the two men were arrested in an apartment in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, a city on the Pacific island of Sakhalin, were planning to carry out a huge terrorist attack in a crowded public place.
It said one was a citizen of Russia and the other of one of the former Soviet republics in Central Asia. They were not identified.
"During a search of their residences, a homemade explosive device was seized, as well as components for (IEDs) improvised explosive devices, ISIS propaganda and banned extremist literature," FSB stated.
The FSB has launched a criminal case against the suspects. "The circumstances surrounding their illegal activities are being established, and an investigation is underway," the FSB Center for Public Relations stated.
ISIS mulls uniting with other terror groups
According to TASS, Russian Intelligence services have obtained information that the Islamic State terrorist organization is holding talks on unification with other terrorist groups, Head of Russia’s Federal Security Service Alexander Bortnikov said at the Moscow Conference on International Security on Wednesday.
"The heads of major international terrorist organizations such as the Islamic State, al-Nusra Front, and also the remainder of the earlier existing structures of Al-Qaeda have started changing their tactics understanding that they face complete destruction in the zone of their previous dominance," Bortnikov explained.
"In particular, they have stepped up the deployment of militants to Afghanistan, Yemen and deep into Africa, and also started creating their strongholds and bases," he said. "In fact, a new extensive terrorist web is being formed. Besides, data shows that the Islamic State is holding talks on possibly uniting with other (terror) groups."
The FSB chief highlighted that any remaining potential international terrorist organizations have shows that the countries fighting terrorism still use disparate approaches. According to Bortnikov, in order to tackle these issues and build an efficient anti-terrorism front there is a need to develop common standards for joint action in these directions. "The best platform for such work is the United Nations," the security chief stressed.
