Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) announced the arrest of seven members of the Islamic State in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg, who were reportedly preparing "high-profile terrorist attacks" in Moscow, St. Petersburg and the Sverdlovsk region with the use of homemade explosives, the RIA Novosti news agency reported Monday.
The leader of the group was an armed insurgent who arrived in Russia from Turkey, according to an official statement, RIA Novosti reported.
After carrying out the attacks, the militants planned to travel to Syria to fight in the conflict there, according to the FSB.
During raids in Yekaterinburg, security services uncovered an explosives laboratory, the state-run TASS news agency reported. An electric detonator, firearms, grenades, components of homemade explosives and extremist literature were also produced in the lab.
It is understood that the detainees will be charged with planning terrorist activity and the illegal possession of weapons and explosives.
President Vladimir Putin said that authorities should take preemptive measures against Islamist extremists who may return to Russia from Syria and engage in terrorist activities.
The Islamic State is a terrorist organization banned in Russia.
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