Russian security service halts terror threats, targeting both past militants, new plots

The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB), in coordination with the Investigative Committee and the Ministry of Internal Affairs, has stepped up operations against longstanding and emerging terrorist threats across the country.

In a recent operation, FSB officers detained Russian citizen Alib Yaipkaev, born in 1982, for his involvement in the August 1999 attack on the Botlikh district of the Republic of Dagestan, orchestrated by the militant groups of Shamil Basayev and Khattab, Caliber.Az reports.

Authorities reported that investigators possess an indisputable body of evidence linking Yaipkaev to the crimes. He was apprehended at his residence in Neftokumsk, Stavropol Krai, and transported to the preliminary investigation authorities. Yaipkaev now faces multiple charges under the Russian Criminal Code. The FSB emphasized that efforts to locate and bring to justice members of past terrorist organizations who evaded prosecution remain ongoing.

In a separate operation, FSB operatives successfully thwarted a series of planned terrorist attacks in Kaluga Oblast, allegedly directed by Ukrainian intelligence. According to the agency, the primary targets were a federal gas storage facility and the parking area of a local defence enterprise. The 49-year-old suspect, a native of Zaporizhzhia residing in Kaluga, reportedly acted under the guidance of Ukrainian special services.

Authorities reported that the suspect had prepared approximately 80 kilograms of high-explosive material and improvised incendiary devices. In a concealed cache, officials also discovered 300 grams of foreign-manufactured plastic explosives, two electric detonators, and a Makarov pistol with ammunition. During an attempt to apprehend him, the suspect resisted with armed force and was neutralized by return fire. No injuries were reported among law enforcement personnel or civilians.

The FSB’s Investigative Directorate for Kaluga Oblast has opened a criminal case on charges of preparing a terrorist act. The targeted gas storage facility, built in 1959, is one of Russia’s largest and its first underground gas storage site, operating as a branch of Gazprom’s underground gas storage division.

By Vafa Guliyeva