Russia arrests 7 suspects over IS terror plots

Russia’s security agencies arrest seven people suspected of preparing New Year’s terror attacks in Moscow on orders from the Islamic State group in Syria.

Russia’s main domestic security and counter-terrorism agency, the FSB, says its agents arrested the suspects in the North Caucasus province of Dagestan. The FSB says the suspects were preparing attacks with automatic weapons and explosives in crowded places.

Illustrative photo of Russian special force soldiers during an anti-terrorist operation in Makhachkala, the regional capital of Dagestan, Russia, on January 20, 2014. (Abdula Magomedov/NewsTeam via AP, File)

Islamist insurgents in Dagestan have mounted frequent attacks on police and officials, and some have sworn allegiance to the Islamic State group.

Russia has waged an air campaign in Syria since September 2015 in support of Syrian President Bashar Assad. President Vladimir Putin and other Russian officials have said that thousands of citizens of Russia and other ex-Soviet nations have joined the Islamic State in Syria.

— AP