The FSB liquidated two cells of adherents of the radical movement "At-Takfir wal-Hijra" *, who called for the creation of a theocratic state in the North Caucasus. According to the ministry, more than 20 extremists were active in Karachay-Cherkessia and Dagestan.
"The FSB in the Malokarachaevsky district of the Karachay-Cherkess Republic and in the cities of Makhachkala, Kaspiysk and Izberbash of the Republic of Dagestan suppressed the activities of two cells of the international extremist religious association At-Takfir wal-Hijra, banned in Russia, with a total number of more than 20 people",- indicated in the statement of the department.
The FSB clarified that the detainees were recruiting new supporters into their ranks. "They called upon believers to reject secular laws and institutions of civil society, and also advocated the creation of a theocratic Islamic state - the caliphate in the North Caucasus," - added to the FSB Public Relations Center.
During the searches, security officials seized from the extremists three grenades with live fuses, three PM pistols, cartridges, a sawn-off shotgun of a hunting rifle, cold steel. FSB officers found 190 copies of pseudo-religious literature. In addition, law enforcement officers seized a large number of flash drives and CDs containing materials of an extremist nature.
On February 20, it became known that the FSB stopped the activities of the At-Takfir wal-Hijra cell in Tatarstan. The group of extremists, which included three Russians and one Ukrainian, planned to commit serious crimes, including to obtain funds to come to Syria and join the ranks of terrorists.
In the summer of 2019, in Karachay-Cherkessia, FSB officers, with the support of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Russian National Guard, detained 12 participants of At-Takfir wal-Hijra. At the place of residence, weapons, ammunition, electronic media with videos of a terrorist nature and religious literature of an extremist nature were seized from the men.
Earlier, law enforcement officers detained a native of Dagestan, who created a terrorist cell in one of the colonies in Kalmykia. The man involved more than 100 convicts in it.
A case was initiated against 22 people under Part 1 and Part 2 of Article 205.4 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation "Creation of a terrorist community and participation in it."
* "At-Takfir wal-Hijra" is a radical organization recognized as extremist and banned in Russia.
