A court in the southern Russian city of Astrakhan has sentenced six men accused of recruiting for militant groups in Russia and abroad to prison terms ranging from six to seven years.
A regional Russian Investigative Committee official said on September 22 that alleged ringleader Takhir Dzhaksibekov and five other defendants, all local men, were convicted of involvement in terrorist activities and illegal possession of ammunition.
According to investigators, the group was recruiting "jihadists" for Islamic militant organizations in Syria, Egypt and Russia's volatile North Caucasus region.
They said the men were arrested in 2013 with the help of an undercover agent.
Authorities said police found extremist literature, explosives and ammunition in the men's homes.
