Russia’s FSB security service says it has prevented a terrorist attack on an Orthodox church in the southern region of Adygea. The suspect is a migrant from one of the Central-Asian republics and an alleged member of an unnamed international terrorist organization.
On June 23, a group of terrorists staged a deadly attack in the republic of Dagestan, also located in the south of Russia. Before being fatally shot by security forces, the assailants killed more than 20 people, including an Orthodox priest, who had his throat cut.
In a statement released on Thursday, the FSB said a “terrorist attack planned by a member of an… international terrorist organization in the Republic of Adygea has been thwarted.”
According to the authorities, the suspect had targeted a church in the city of Maykop and intended to kill priests and guards before setting fire to the building.
Officials claimed the man had already studied the site, devised a plan for the attack, and put together several improvised fire bombs. FSB operatives also seized extremist materials, the flag of an unidentified terrorist group, and a knife, the statement revealed.
Authorities also claim that the suspect was intending to film his attack and upload it to the internet “with the aim of promoting the ideas” of his terrorist organization.
The would-be assailant had allegedly planned to flee abroad after committing his crime.
During the terrorist attack late last month in Dagestan, the gunmen attacked several targets in the regional capital, Makhachkala, as well as the city of Derbent. Aside from the Orthodox church, the terrorists also set a Jewish synagogue ablaze. They also initiated several shootouts with police, killing more than a dozen officers, with 46 people sustaining injuries.
In a statement on its official Telegram channel, the Investigative Committee said the attackers are believed to have been members of an organized group.