ROSTOV-ON-DON REGION, RUSSIA – JULY 15, 2019: Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) officers detain two members of a cell of the Islamic State terrorist organization (banned in Russia). Video screen grab/ Russian Federal Security Service/TASS.
On July 14, Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) announced that it had detained five members of the al-Qaeda-affiliated Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) terror group in several regions of Russia for collecting donations for militants in Syria.
“On the territory of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic, Astrakhan, Volgograd, Samara and Moscow regions, five Russian citizens were detained – accomplices of the international terrorist organization Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, currently operating in Syria,” the FSB said in a statement.
The five detainees collected and transferred money under the guise of charity for the needs of HTS militants in the northwestern Syrian region of Greater Idlib. In the detainees’ places of residence, communication devices and financial means were found, as well as other documentary materials confirming their involvement in illegal activities.
According to the FSB’s statement, a criminal case was opened against the detainees on charges of promoting terrorism.
HTS, which is designated by Russia as a terrorist group, is the de-facto ruler of Greater Idlib. The terrorist group is known to have some members in Russia. On April 15, the FSB detained four members of the group who were plotting a terror attack on local military facilities in the Kaluga region.
Russian forces in Syria conduct operations against HTS on a regular basis. On July 12, a series of Russian airstrikes destroyed a network of underground barracks and a drone workshop of the terrorist group in Greater Idlib.
