MOSCOW (Sputnik) — A source in Russia's National Counter-Terrorist Committee told the outlet Moskovsky Komsomolets they had seized a group of 15 people in downtown Moscow, adding that an improvised explosive device had been found and defused in the suspects' hideout.
Of the 15 detainees, 12 are from the North Caucasus, including Chechnya, and three are Syrian citizens, the source said.
There has been no immediate official confirmation of this claim. Earlier reports spoke of only three detainees.
Russian Aerospace Forces have conducted scores of sorties in its nearly two-week air campaign in Syria, destroying ISIL facilities and equipment, and enabling Syrian government forces to liberate large areas from the militants.
