An alleged terrorist who was arrested for planning a New Year’s Eve attack in St. Petersburg had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State, Russia’s state secret service (FSB) said on Monday.
The suspect was arrested on Friday along with another man after U.S. security services dismissed Russian authorities. The two men had planned to carry out an attack in crowded places around the New Year.
The FSB released a video showing the arrest of two Slavic-looking men and a raid on his apartment where ammunition, knives, electric cables and black clothing were discovered.
A warning from US authorities alerted the Russian secret service about the terrorist plot
Another video posted by the FSB to Russian news agencies shows one of the suspects with a masked face, who promises allegiance to the Islamic State in Arabic. Russian officials have not provided further details about the alleged plan of attack.
The Kremlin said Russian President Vladimir Putin conveyed his gratitude to U.S. President Donald Trump for sharing the intelligence that helped stop the attack, during a phone call Sunday.
kmm / aw (AFP, dpa)
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