Russia claims to have foiled possible terror act

National Anti-Terrorist Committee says special forces killed two Russian citizens who received training along Afghanistan-Pakistan border and planned to attack in Moscow; third detained

Associated Press|Published: 05.20.13 , 23:00

Russia's counterterrorism agency said Monday that its special forces killed two militants and detained a third believed to have been planning a terrorist act in Moscow.

A spokesman for the National Anti-Terrorist Committee, known as NAK, said on state television that the militants were Russian citizens who had received training along the Afghanistan- Pakistan border. They were not identified.

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Russian special forces regularly announce that they have thwarted terrorist attacks, although this most often occurs in the Caucasus region of southern Russia where an Islamic insurgency is simmering. The last major terrorist attack in Moscow was a suicide bombing at the Domodedovo international airport in January 2011 that left 37 people dead.

NAK spokesman Dmitry Pavlov said special forces surrounded the building where the militants were holed up in the Moscow suburb of Orekhovo-Zuevo and ordered them to surrender, but instead the militants opened fire. He said one of the special forces was lightly wounded in the operation but no local residents were hurt.

It was not clear when the operation took place and no further information was immediately available.