Poland Detains Russian Citizen Accused of Being an ISIS Member in Syria

27 February 2024, Poland, Warsaw: Farmers wave Polish flags during farmers protest in downtown Warsaw against the European Union's agricultural policies. Photo: Attila Husejnow/SOPA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
27 February 2024, Poland, Warsaw: Farmers wave Polish flags during farmers protest in downtown Warsaw against the European Union's agricultural policies. Photo: Attila Husejnow/SOPA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
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Poland Detains Russian Citizen Accused of Being an ISIS Member in Syria

27 February 2024, Poland, Warsaw: Farmers wave Polish flags during farmers protest in downtown Warsaw against the European Union's agricultural policies. Photo: Attila Husejnow/SOPA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
27 February 2024, Poland, Warsaw: Farmers wave Polish flags during farmers protest in downtown Warsaw against the European Union's agricultural policies. Photo: Attila Husejnow/SOPA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa

Poland's Internal Security Agency (ABW) has detained a Russian citizen accused of being a member of ISIS, the National Prosecutor's Office said in a statement on Thursday.

"The prosecutor... charged the detainee with being part of armed groups in the Syrian Arab Republic aimed at committing crimes of a terrorist nature," the prosecutor's office said in a statement.

It said that the accused had been a part of Jabhat Al-Nusra and al-Qaeda before joining ISIS.
The man is being held in pre-trial detention for three months and if found guilty could face eight years in prison.



Russia Captures UK National Fighting Alongside Ukraine in the Kursk Region

Civilians wearing military uniforms take part in a military training organized by Ukrainian soldiers of The Third Separate Assault Brigade in Kyiv, on November 23, 2024, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Tetiana DZHAFAROVA / AFP)
Civilians wearing military uniforms take part in a military training organized by Ukrainian soldiers of The Third Separate Assault Brigade in Kyiv, on November 23, 2024, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Tetiana DZHAFAROVA / AFP)
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Russia Captures UK National Fighting Alongside Ukraine in the Kursk Region

Civilians wearing military uniforms take part in a military training organized by Ukrainian soldiers of The Third Separate Assault Brigade in Kyiv, on November 23, 2024, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Tetiana DZHAFAROVA / AFP)
Civilians wearing military uniforms take part in a military training organized by Ukrainian soldiers of The Third Separate Assault Brigade in Kyiv, on November 23, 2024, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Tetiana DZHAFAROVA / AFP)

The Russian military captured a British national fighting alongside Ukrainian troops in Russia's partially occupied Kursk region, state news agency Tass reported Monday, citing unidentified sources in the law enforcement.
The man was identified by Tass and other media as James Scott Rhys Anderson. Tass quoted him as saying that he had served as a signalman in the British army for four years and then joined the International Legion of Ukraine, formed early on in Russia's nearly 3-year-old war against its neighbor.
In Ukraine, Anderson reportedly served as an instructor for Ukrainian troops and was deployed to the Kursk region against his will. Tass published a video of the man saying in English that he doesn’t want to be “here.”
The report couldn’t be independently verified, but if confirmed it could be the first publicly known case of a Western national captured on Russian soil while fighting for Ukraine.
The UK Embassy in Moscow and the Russian Defense Ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment.