Russia

Total of 39 Terrorist Attacks Foiled in Russia in 2019, Federal Security Service Reveals

Since the beginning of the year, Russian law enforcement agencies have foiled 39 terrorist attacks and eliminated 49 terrorist cells, whose members had planned to carry out attacks in various regions of the country, Alexander Bortnikov, the Director of Russian Federal Security Service, said.
Sputnik
"This year, 39 terrorist attacks were prevented at the preparation stage, 32 militants were neutralized, 679 were detained, and 22 are inclined to abandon terrorist activity," Bortnikov said.

Leaders of international terrorist organizations are stepping up their attempts to acquire new weapons, as well as geolocation and satellite communications tools, Bortnikov said on Wednesday.

"In cooperation with Russia's Prosecutor General and Roskomnadzor [Russia's communications watchdog] [the FSB] blocked access to over 8,000 internet resources that [contained information] directed toward destruction [terrorism]," Bortnikov said in Sochi.

As many as 49 terrorist cells, planning to conduct attacks in various regions across Russia, have been eliminated in 2019, Bortnikov added.

"Leaders of terrorist structures are stepping up their attempts to acquire new kinds of weapons and military equipment, and geolocation and satellite communications tools," Bortnikov said at a conference for heads of intelligence services, security services and law enforcement bodies of FSB partner nations.

Bortnikov said that drone attacks on military and civilian facilities, as well as drone usage for military cargo movement in the interests of militants, had become a widespread problem.

"Improving performance of drones and their ability to deliver different weapons of destruction, up to chemical and poisoning agents, and to act autonomously will become a threat that we will really face in near future," Bortnikov said.

The ability of hackers, controlled by global terrorists, to present their cyberattacks as intentional hostile actions by a certain nation bears the risk of real political and military conflicts, Bortnikov stressed.

"Personal cyberdepartments of international terrorist organizations continue developing," Bortnikov said at a conference for heads of intelligence services, security services and law enforcement bodies of FSB partner nations.

Bortnikov stressed the need to enhance international counterterrorism coordination between security forces.

"The politicization of such cooperation [terrorism fight] is unacceptable and even harmful. Ordinary citizens – they commonly become victims of militants – must not be hostage to differences between countries," Bortnikov said.

According to the FSB chief, there should be no place for double standards in the fight against terrorism.

He warned that "cozying up to bandits" would, in the end, play into the hands of these criminals. The latter must be prosecuted and, "if armed resistance is offered, they must be eliminated on the spot," the FSB added.

The Russian Federal Security Service is alarmed over reluctance of several world's leading IT companies to cooperate with global intelligence services on countering terrorism, FSB head said.

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