A militant cell with suspected links to the Islamic State terror group was foiled in Russia’s southern Republic of Ingushetia, the National Anti-Terrorist Committee (NAC) said.
"The FSB and Russian Interior Ministry units have foiled the criminal activities of an underground conspiratorial bandit cell, associated with the international terrorist organization Islamic State (IS, Daesh, formerly ISIS/ISIL)," the statement read.
The four members of the group, all of whom were residents of Ingushetia, were detained during the operation, the NAC said.
The militant cell located in the Republic’s Nazran District was in possession of a “large weapons cache,” which was destroyed by the security forces.
The arsenal of the terrorists consisted of “three ready-to-use improvised explosive devices (IEDs), grenades, Kalashnikov assault rifles and pistols with silencers, including foreign-made ones, as well as over 2,000 rounds from small arms.”
"The group… was created for committing crimes against government officials, law enforcers and supporters of traditional Islam," the NAC statement said.
Last week, a recruiter for Islamic State was detained by the police in Ingushetia.
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A 23-year-old man in the town of Karabulak had been persuading young people to join the terrorists for the last two years, and had an IED in his home.