On 13–14December 2017, Russian security authorities arrested seven members of an

ISIL An Islamic state is a state that has a form of government based on Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a translation of the Arabic term ...

terrorist cell during a police operation in

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

. The suspects were alleged to have plotted suicide bombings in St. Petersburg on the weekend of 16–17 December 2017, with the Kazan Cathedral among the targets. Both the United States

Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...

(CIA) and the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) were involved in the operation.

Background

Russia has become one of the main targets of jihadists since it began a military campaign against various Islamist groups in Syria. In October 2015, an airplane with Russian tourists was blown up over Egypt on its way to St. Petersburg. In August 2016, two men with firearms and axes attacked a police station on the Shchelkovskoye highway near Moscow. In April 2017, a suicide bomber blew himself up in a car at the St. Petersburg metro. In August 2017, a single terrorist organized a series of attacks, including mass killings and arson, in the center of Surgut. Three days earlier the FSB had arrested three suspected members of a similar group in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

, where they were allegedly plotting attacks during the New Year holidays and the upcoming

presidential campaign President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese fu ...

Raids

According to a statement, a "large number of explosives used to make homemade bombs, automatic rifles, munitions and extremist literature" were seized during a police operation on13 and14 December. Seven people were arrested. During the operation, the officers also destroyed a laboratory that the suspects had reportedly used to manufacture explosive devices. The FSB issued a video of one of the detainees being questioned. "I was supposed to make the explosives and... pack them into bottles with projectiles attached" he said.

Reactions

* Russian President

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...

officially thanked US President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...

and the head of the

CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...

for helping prevent a potential terror attack on St. Petersburg. *

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...

Press Secretary

Sarah Sanders Sarah Elizabeth Huckabee Sanders (born August 13, 1982) is an American former political spokesperson and the governor-elect of Arkansas. She was the 31st White House press secretary, serving under President Donald Trump from 2017 to 2019. She ...

confirmed on 17 December that Trump had spoken to Putin. * Trump spoke to CIA Director

Mike Pompeo Michael Richard Pompeo (; born December 30, 1963) is an American politician, diplomat, and businessman who served under President Donald Trump as director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) from 2017 to 2018 and as the 70th United State ...

"to congratulate him, his very talented people, and the entire intelligence community on a job well done!" Representing new US national security strategy, Trump said that "many people, perhaps in the thousands, could have been killed" in this attack. In turn, Pompeo described the event as an example of a positive partnership between Russia and the United States.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:St. Petersburg raid Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant and Russia Russian special forces operations Law enforcement in Russia Police raids on Islamists 2017 in Saint Petersburg Islamic terrorism in Russia December 2017 events in Russia Russia–United States relations Military history of Saint Petersburg

Background

Raids

Reactions

See also

References