Suspected attacker dies in explosion during arrest in Russia's Stavropol

Russia’s Federal Security Service said it had prevented a planned attack in Stavropol targeting a law enforcement officer, adding that the suspected perpetrator was killed when an explosive device detonated during his arrest.

According to a statement from the agency’s Public Relations Centre cited by TASS, the suspect was a Russian citizen born in 1995 who was allegedly acting on instructions from Ukrainian intelligence services.

“The Federal Security Service prevented a sabotage and terrorist act in Stavropol that was being planned by a Russian citizen born in 1995 on instructions from Ukrainian special services,” the agency said.

The FSB stated that the individual had independently initiated contact with a handler via the Telegram platform. Acting on those instructions, he carried out surveillance of a law enforcement officer and the officer’s family in preparation for the attack.

According to the statement, the suspect later retrieved an improvised explosive device from a concealed cache with the intention of using it to blow up the officer’s vehicle. During an operation by an FSB special unit to detain him, the handler allegedly detonated the device remotely, killing the suspect.

The agency said no FSB personnel or civilians were injured in the incident.

By Tamilla Hasanova