Russia says arrests ISIS-linked group plotting Moscow attacks
MOSCOW - Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) has arrested 10 people from Central Asia with links to Islamic State who planned to carry out attacks with firearms and explosives in Moscow and St Petersburg, Russian news agencies reported on Saturday.
The FSB said in a statement that the 10 had been detained with the help of Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It said they had been plotting assaults with automatic weapons and home-made explosives in public places in the two Russian cities.
Moscow last year launched a campaign of air strikes in Syria to help President Bashar al-Assad take on various rebel groups as well as the Islamic State militant group. The Kremlin has said its main objective is to crush ISIS.
Thousands of Russians have been fighting in Syria with anti-Assad forces, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said in early November, warning of possible attacks by them when they return home.
