Suspected IS recruiter arrested in Astrakhan

The court has pronounced the decision to detain a 54-year-old resident of Astrakhan, suspected of aiding and abetting the terrorist organization "Islamic State" (IS), banned in Russia by court.

According to investigators, in 2015, in one of the Astrakhan mosques, being a "supporter of a radical concept of Islam," a 54-year-old local resident got acquainted with two men and tried to persuade them to take part in the combat actions in Syria on the side of the terrorist organization "Islamic State" (IS), banned in Russia.

"The suspect has promised his new acquaintances to assist them in travelling through the territory of Turkey to the Syrian Arab Republic and to provide them with financing of all the costs," states the press service of the Investigating Department for the Astrakhan Region of the Investigating Committee of the Russian Federation (ICRF).

Various sources, including the Russian FSB, have confirmed the information that militants from Russia are involved in the combat actions in Syria on the side of the "Islamic State", recognized as a terrorist organization and banned in Russia by the court decision. According to Alexander Bortnikov, the chief of the Russian FSB, in 2015, Russian law enforcers identified 2900 people suspected of involvement in terrorist activities in Afghanistan, Syria, and Iraq.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.