Another church attack foiled in southern Russia – FSB

The agency said it arrested six suspects who intended to commit terror attacks on religious sites and law enforcement

Russian law enforcement have broken up a terrorist cell in the Republic of Ingushetia in the southern part of the country, foiling its plans to attack an Orthodox church and police officers, the Federal Security Service (FSB) has said.

In a statement on Wednesday, the FSB said that its operatives and other agencies had prevented a series of terrorist crimes by arresting six local residents in the town of Nazran and the nearby settlement of Kantyshevo, adding that they were members of an unnamed international terrorist organization.

The alleged culprits were “harboring plans to commit sabotage and terrorist acts against employees of the republic’s law enforcement agencies, as well as religious facilities,” the statement read. It said that one of the targets would have been the Church of the Protection of the Holy Virgin in the town of Sunzha.

The FSB said the suspects had confessed, noting that agents had found a homemade explosive device, components for its manufacture, firearms and bladed weapons, as well as symbols of the terrorist organization in their homes and at a secret cache. The suspects’ phones also contained instructions on urban and forest warfare, as well as manuals on how to make explosive and incendiary devices, officials said.

The video released by the agency shows a squad of heavily armed agents raiding the premises of the suspects, who were then handcuffed and taken into custody.

In recent weeks, Russian law enforcement agencies have conducted a number of arrests and other anti-terrorist operations in the southern part of the country, arresting numerous suspects who intended to attack religious targets.

READ MORE: WATCH Russian police eliminate terrorists in Dagestan

The latest clampdown intensified after a group of gunmen in Dagestan attacked several targets in two cities in late June, including two churches, a synagogue and a police post, killing a total of 22 people, including 17 police officers. Local authorities at the time said that six gunmen were eliminated.