Islamist bomb plot foiled – FSB (VIDEO)
The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) has said it prevented a bomb attack on a railway terminal in the city of Pskov. Several radical Islamists were killed in an exchange of gunfire during an attempt to apprehend them, the agency reported in a statement on Thursday.
The FSB claimed the suspects belonged to a terrorist cell linked to an Islamist organization operating from the Middle East. Their reported intent was to execute their plan and subsequently flee the country for the region.
In preparation for the attack, the plotters had conducted surveillance on their target in the northwestern city and were in the process of assembling explosives when FSB agents intervened. According to the agency, all the suspects were killed in the ensuing confrontation.
Following the raid, law enforcement recovered materials for making improvised explosive devices and firearms at the suspects’ residences. All individuals involved reportedly hailed from the same Central Asian nation, although the FSB did not disclose its name.
A video that the FSB released later in the day included CCTV footage apparently showing one of the suspects taking pictures inside the terminal, as well as footage of a raid on a wooden cabin and a search being executed at another location. The evidence suggests that the group was building an improvised device with household chemicals as materials for the explosive core covered with nails for extra lethality.
The Pskov terminal was first opened in 1859 as part of Russia’s initial development of rail infrastructure. The city itself has over 180,000 residents and serves as a major regional transport hub.
