Russian authorities say they have arrested a group of people planning to carry out a terrorist attack in Moscow.
Russia’s National Antiterrorism Committee said on October 11 that “criminals” were arrested in an apartment in western Moscow, where security officers found and defused an “improvised explosive device.”
The agency said that the arrested individuals were “involved in the preparation of a terrorist attack in Moscow.”
It was not immediately clear what, if any, broader organization the suspects might belong to.
Putin has cited the dangers of Islamic State (IS) militants potentially carrying out terrorist attacks in Russia in defending Moscow’s decision to carry out air strikes against positions held by the extremist group in Syria.
The aerial bombings have caused friction between Moscow and Washington, which says Russia has targeted more moderate opponents of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in the campaign as well.
Putin said in a television interview broadcast on Russian state television earlier on October 11 that the threat of terrorism in Russia “had already existed” before Moscow began bombing targets in Syria on September 30.