A Dagestani schoolboy has been arrested on suspicion of links to ISIS.

A school student suspected of plotting an attack on security forces on behalf of an Islamic State member* has been taken into custody in Dagestan.

As reported by the Caucasian Knot, on July 6, the Investigative Committee reported the arrest of a minor resident of Dagestan suspected of plotting a terrorist attack in Buynaksk. According to investigators, he planned the attack in March 2025, after which he "picked up a homemade explosive device at a predetermined location," but was subsequently detained. According to security officials, the teenager was planning an explosion near the Ministry of Internal Affairs building. In September, a court remanded four Buinaksk residents suspected of plotting a terrorist attack at a police station.

An underage 11th-grade student at a school in the Dagestani village of Khuchni was arrested on suspicion of participating in the activities of the Islamic State* and faces 10 to 20 years in prison, RIA Novosti reported today, citing court documents.

According to court documents, the criminal case was opened in mid-September. Investigators believe the teenager communicated with a member of a terrorist organization via TikTok.

The defense requested a more lenient preventive measure in the form of house arrest, citing the student's positive character and the possibility of parental supervision. However, the Supreme Court of Dagestan dismissed the lawyer's appeal, the publication states.

He was detained in the Republic of Dagestan while attempting to retrieve a weapon on instructions from an unidentified person.

A source familiar with the investigation told the agency that the student does not deny his involvement in the crime. "The minor engaged in a conversation on the social network TikTok with an unidentified ISIS member*. He was detained in the Republic of Dagestan while attempting to retrieve a weapon (a pistol) on instructions from an unidentified person to attempt to kill law enforcement officers," he said.

The student's criminal case continues the pattern of persecuting minors.

"Caucasian Knot" also reported on a series of criminal cases opened in 2025 against teenagers in other regions of southern Russia. On June 30, a 17-year-old Volgograd college student was taken into custody on suspicion of creating an extremist group. Three 17-year-olds, whom investigators believe to be his associates, were placed under house arrest. Two more suspected members of the group – 15-year-old schoolchildren – escaped prosecution due to their age.

On June 5, security forces in Stavropol reported the arrest of eight 15- to 17-year-olds, whom investigators believe to be members of an extremist group. According to investigators, the teenagers painted "graphic images with Nazi symbols and symbols of an extremist group" on fences and buildings and were planning violent crimes.

On May 19, nine people, including eight teenagers, suspected of plotting attacks on police officers were taken into custody in Stavropol Krai. Some of the detainees told law enforcement that they swore an oath to a terrorist organization without understanding the meaning.

"He asked me to say certain words, and I said them. Then, a little later, I learned that [I had to say them] to join this group," said one of the detainees. "He came up to my brother and me and said, 'You must repeat after me.' We did, and after we did, he said we'd taken the oath," another teenager reported.

* A terrorist organization banned in Russia.

** Meta (owner of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp) is banned in Russia.