"Militants have already moved to North Africa, in particular, to Libya, traveled down to Central Africa and reached the south of Africa. Militants, of course, move to Afghanistan, some stay there, some move to Southeast Asia", Fomin told the broadcaster.
The deputy defense minister added that there still was a threat of Daesh returning to Syria.
"But everyone should understand this one simple thing — the sooner we stop, I mean those who help, [provide] all kinds of support to armed groups, the fewer chances [that the terrorists may return] and concerns there will be", Fomin said.
The deputy defense minister said that Washington's claims of the full elimination of Daesh were not completely true.
"In fact, the eastern bank of the Euphrates river is not a very calm region yet. A US statement that it completely destroyed Daesh is not fully true. Some splinters of the armed groups remained, which is demonstrated by sorties of the militants", Fomin said.
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The armed conflict in Syria has been ongoing since 2011. The victory over Daesh in Iraq and Syria was announced in late 2017. Operations against militants continue in some areas in Syria, but the focus has largely shifted toward political settlement.
*Daesh (also known as ISIS/ISIL/IS) is a terrorist group banned in Russia
