MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Russian security services eliminated over 40 terrorist leaders in the country in 2015, including 20 believed to have links to Daesh (Islamic State), the first deputy head of the National Antiterrorism Committee said Friday.
"Security forces of the Russian Federation neutralized the activity of more than 40 terrorist leaders in 2015. Twenty of the 26 leaders of bandit groups linked to Daesh were eliminated," Evgeny Ilin told journalists.
According to Ilin, over 150 suspected militants were killed by the authorities in Russia last year.
Daesh, which occupies vast tracts of Iraq and Syria and is outlawed in many countries including Russia, has gained much notoriety for conducting suicide bombings and other attacks worldwide and recruiting young people via social media.
