Russia busts Daesh cell in Saint Petersburg

Russia has dismantled a cell of the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group in Saint Petersburg that was planning to carry out imminent terror attacks in the northern city.

"The FSB identified and stopped the activities of a clandestine cell” of Daesh supporters, the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) said in a statement on Friday, adding that they "planned to commit attacks on December 16."

The security service further said that the group planned "the killing of citizens" in crowded areas of Russia’s second city.

Russian forces arrested seven members of the cell during raids that took place on Wednesday and Thursday.

According to the statement, a "large number of explosives used to make homemade bombs, automatic rifles, munitions and extremist literature" were seized during the police operation.

FSB chief Alexander Bortnikov said on Tuesday that Russia was on alert for the possible return of Takfiri terrorists from Syria ahead of the FIFA World Cup and the presidential election in 2018.

Back in April, some 14 people were killed in an attack in Saint Petersburg.

Russia has been hit by a number of high-profile attacks by Daesh since the country became involved in the war on terror in Syria.

SS