Russian President Vladimir Putin, accompanied by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, second from right, speaks during a meeting focused on Syria and Ukraine with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, on March 24, 2016. [State Department photo/ Public Domain]
It is possible that Russians from the predominantly Muslim southern areas of the country who went to fight with ISIS in Syria, are returning home and using the skills they gained in the Middle East to create terror in Russia. This isn’t the first recent terror plot in Russia. Thomas Grove reports in The Wall Street Journal:
Russian security officials say they have already stopped several terrorist attacks this year including in the lead up to the country’s New Year celebrations. The Federal Security Service said earlier this month they had detained Islamic State terrorists who had planned a suicide bombing in central St. Petersburg. In April, the city’s subway was hit by a fatal bombing.
Mr. Putin said he had given orders to the director of the Federal Security Service to act within the boundaries of the law when detaining terrorists.
“But faced with a threat to the life or health of our colleagues, our officers, they should act decisively, not take any prisoners and liquidate the bandits on the spot,” he said.
Until recently, Russia’s predominantly Muslim North Caucasus had seen almost daily violence from Islamic separatists who wanted to wrest the region away from Moscow’s control and introduce Shariah law. Security measures and the departure of fighters to join Islamic State in Syria and Iraq has cut violence substantially.
However, many Islamic State fighters from the region have vowed to return to rekindle the insurgency.
Read more here.
