"According to credible data received by the Foreign Intelligence Service of Russia, the US military is actively recruiting militants from jihadist groups affiliated with the Daesh* and Al-Qaeda* to carry out terrorist attacks in Russia and the CIS countries. Particular attention is paid to attracting people from the Russian North Caucasus and Central Asia to cooperation," the SVR said in a statement.
In January, the United States recruited 60 militants, the statement said, adding that after training at the US' Al-Tanf military base in Syria, they are planned to be sent to Russia and other CIS countries to carry out terrorist attacks against diplomats and security officials.
“There they are taught how to make and use improvised explosive devices, as well as how to conduct sabotage and subversive activities. Particular attention is paid to planning attacks on well-guarded facilities, including foreign diplomatic missions," the intelligence agency explained.
US security agencies, obsessed with the "crazy idea of exsanguinating Russia," consider it acceptable to use terrorists for their own purposes, the SVR said.
"We see a definitive loss of any moral principles in the US security services. Obsessed with the insane idea of 'exsanguinating' Russia, Washington's strategists consider it acceptable to use terrorists directly for their own dirty purposes. Such actions put Washington on a par with major international terrorist groups," the release said.
This isn't the first time that the SVR has reported that the US is cooperating with terrorists. In May 2022, the intelligence service revealed that Washington was actively recruiting Daesh members to participate in hostilities in Ukraine as mercenaries. According to the SVR, jihadist special forces were trained to carry out sabotage ops against the Russian Armed Forces in Ukraine.
In April 2022, about 60 Daesh fighters aged 20 to 25 were released from prisons controlled by Syrian Kurds with the participation of US intelligence services. Then these terrorists underwent combat training to then be deployed to Ukraine, the SVR said.
The Russian intelligence agency warned at the time that the US' Al-Tanf base in Syria had turned into a terrorist "hub," where around 500 militants loyal to the United States and other jihadists were also trained for transfer to Ukraine. The intelligence service stressed that priority was given to people from Transcaucasia and Central Asia.
"The training 'course' at Al-Tanf includes training in the use of available types of anti-tank missile systems, reconnaissance and strike drones MQ-1C, advanced communications and surveillance equipment," the SVR said at the time.
*A terrorist group outlawed in Russia and many other countries.