Two ISIS recruiters detained in Russia
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The convicted individuals allegedly recruited 19 people into the ISIS terrorist group
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Bullet holes on an ISIS mural, undated. (AFP)
Two Russian individuals suspected of being ISIS recruiters have been arrested and taken into custody, officials announced on Monday.
The arrest warrants were issued in Tyumen Region in Western Serbia for the two suspects accused of engaging in crimes between February 2015 and November 2022, Russia's Investigative Committee and the Federal Security Service (FSB) said in a joint statement.
The pair allegedly convinced 19 people residing in the region to join the group in Syria, and one of the convicted individuals allegedly publicly condoned terrorism, the statement said. Additionally, the two suspected members supposedly urged people to send donations to the terrorist organization, which is considered materially supporting terrorism under Russian law.
The FSB released the arrest footage of the unnamed detainees showing they did not resist arrest.
Russia reveals significant increase in terrorist, extremist crimes
Russia's terrorist and extremist crime rates have significantly increased in the first half of this year, the Interior Ministry reported, releasing recent data.
1,651 terrorism-related crimes were recorded in the country in the six months of 2024, marking a nearly 40 percent increase compared to the same period in 2023, the recently published document revealed.
The ministry noted that from January to June 2006 to 2023, the number of terrorism crimes had never exceeded 1,400. The previous record high was registered in the first half of 2022 with 1,332 terrorism-linked crimes.
12% increase compared to previous year
Crimes linked to extremist activities have also reached a record peak since 819 crimes were reported between January and June, indicating a nearly 12 percent increase compared to the previous year. Essentially, the number of extremist-linked crimes has not exceeded 800 since 2018.
The Russian Interior Ministry classifies terrorist crimes as planning terrorist attacks, public calls for terrorism, justifying terrorism, and hostage-taking, while extremist crimes are considered political, ideological, racial, national, or religious hatred, or hostility towards any social group.
The FSB regularly releases information concerning failed terror plans, often characterizing the suspects as people linked to Islamist terrorist organizations or Ukrainian nationalists and collaborators.
Aleksandr Bortnikov, the FSB's director, revealed in June that the agency had prevented 134 terrorist and sabotage acts solely in central Russia since the outbreak of Moscow's war with Kiev, which began in February 2022. Additionally, the intelligence officer highlighted the country's security agencies have also dismantled the operations of 32 international terrorist cells within Russia.
