Moscow Foils ISIS Attack Plotted from Syria

Security forces in Moscow in December 2019. (EPA)
Security forces in Moscow in December 2019. (EPA)
TT

Moscow Foils ISIS Attack Plotted from Syria

Security forces in Moscow in December 2019. (EPA)
Security forces in Moscow in December 2019. (EPA)

Foils ISIS Attack Plotted from Syria

The Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation (FSB RF) has thwarted a terrorist attack in Moscow. Initial investigations showed that the extremist who was plotting the attack is linked to “terrorist groups” active in Syria.

A Russian citizen was detained in Moscow, the FSB said. The Security Service revealed the man was planning to detonate an improvised explosive device (IED) in a crowded area in July.

The Service published footage of the arrest of the extremist in an agricultural area that appeared to be the Moscow countryside.

IED components and instructions for making the explosive were found in his possession.

The security officials revealed his correspondence with members of international terrorist organizations in Syria.

This is not the first time this month that Moscow announces the foiling of an attack linked to active organizations in Syria.

The FSB has busted an ISIS cell that was plotting a series of terrorist attacks in the Russian capital.

Weeks ago, the Security Service arrested four cells with ties to Hizb ut-Tahrir that were operating in three major cities.

They were working at the orders of Hizb ut-Tahrir to promote terrorist propaganda in Russia and recruit new members.

Four leaders and 11 active members from Russia and Central Asia countries were arrested.



Türkiye Replaces Pro-Kurdish Mayors with State Officials in 2 Cities

Fishermen fish on the Galata Bridge during heavy rain in Eminonu district of Istanbul on 21 November 2024. (Photo by KEMAL ASLAN / AFP)
Fishermen fish on the Galata Bridge during heavy rain in Eminonu district of Istanbul on 21 November 2024. (Photo by KEMAL ASLAN / AFP)
TT

Türkiye Replaces Pro-Kurdish Mayors with State Officials in 2 Cities

Fishermen fish on the Galata Bridge during heavy rain in Eminonu district of Istanbul on 21 November 2024. (Photo by KEMAL ASLAN / AFP)
Fishermen fish on the Galata Bridge during heavy rain in Eminonu district of Istanbul on 21 November 2024. (Photo by KEMAL ASLAN / AFP)

Türkiye stripped two elected pro-Kurdish mayors of their posts in eastern cities on Friday, for convictions on terrorism-related offences, the interior ministry said, temporarily appointing state officials in their places instead.

The local governor replaced mayor Cevdet Konak in Tunceli, while a local administrator was appointed in the place of Ovacik mayor Mustafa Sarigul, the ministry said in a statement, adding these were "temporary measures".
Konak is a member of the pro-Kurdish DEM Party, which has 57 seats in the national parliament, and Sarigul is a member of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP). Dozens of pro-Kurdish mayors from its predecessor parties have been removed from their posts on similar charges in the past, Reuters reported.
CHP leader Ozgur Ozel said authorities had deemed that Sarigul's attendance at a funeral was a crime and called the move to appoint a trustee "a theft of the national will", adding his party would stand against the "injustice".
"Removing a mayor who has been elected by the votes of the people for two terms over a funeral he attended 12 years ago has no more jurisdiction than the last struggles of a government on its way out," Ozel said on X.
Earlier this month, Türkiye replaced three pro-Kurdish mayors in southeastern cities over similar terrorism-related reasons, drawing backlash from the DEM Party and others.
Last month, a mayor from the CHP was arrested after prosecutors accused him of belonging to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), banned as a terrorist group in Türkiye and deemed a terrorist group by the European Union and United States.
The appointment of government trustees followed a surprise proposal by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's main ally last month to end the state's 40-year conflict with the PKK.