Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) stated that they had busted a major terror attack and arrested a suspect preparing to carry out an explosion in a passenger train traveling between the cities of Kislovodsk and Mineralnye Vody.
The suspect, it was reported, was from Central Asia and caught in Stavropol preparing for the act. According to the FSB, he had vowed allegiance to a prohibited terrorist group and had got all the material needed to create an explosive device, including chemicals, shrapnel, and other components of a bomb that were confiscated in his house at Yessentuki.
What does this arrest reveal about ISIS-K’s presence in Russia?
The recent trend of terrorism in Russia is shaped by several factors involving and complicated by domestic security challenges, geopolitical dynamics, and international terrorist groups. Certainly, the Islamic State group, especially ISIS-K, or Khorasan Province, has been targeting Russia on an increasing scale.
Part of this is because of Russia’s military involvement in Syria and its support for regimes opposed by ISIS, making it a significant target for that type of retaliation. The group has taken advantage of the weaknesses left by Russia’s concentration on its war with Ukraine to strategize attacks within Russian territory.
How has Russia strengthened its counterterrorism measures?
The Russian government, through a thorough set of measures against terrorism, has included provisions of legal framework against financing and has enhanced its law enforcement with a capacity that would counter-terror in both international and domestic directions.
Earlier, FSB said on December 27, 2024, that it had thwarted a terrorist attack planned against a police station in Moscow. Two suspected attackers were killed in the operation. The suspects belonged to ISIS-K, a regional affiliate of the Islamic State, which primarily operates in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
According to available reports, all of these people were residents of Central Asian Republics and had already begun intelligence gathering about their chosen victims before carrying out the strike. According to FSB, the suspects have prepared a propane gas-cylinder-loaded car ready to explode as part of an IED. During the arrest operation, the suspects offered resistance and started firing at security forces, who in turn fired, killing them on the spot.
