Russia says six IS fighters killed in Caucasus republic

March 3, 2024 05:27 PM

Russian authorities on Sunday said they had killed six suspected Islamic State group fighters in the southern Muslim-majority Caucasus republic of Ingushetia.

Special forces from the FSB security agency cornered the six people in a building in the town of Karabulak and "neutralised" them in an operation that began on Saturday night, Russia's anti-terrorism committee said.

It said the suspects, three of whom were on the federal wanted persons list, were IS members who were "involved in a number of terrorist crimes".

These included an attack against a police station and the murder of three officers in March 2023, the committee said, adding that there were no civilian victims.

Russian authorities frequently announce the thwarting of planned attacks by suspected Islamist groups.

The influence of IS in Russia is limited, although a few attacks have occurred in recent years, particularly in the Muslim-majority Caucasus republics of Chechnya, Ingushetia and Dagestan.

In April 2017, IS claimed an attack that killed two police officers in the city of Astrakhan, in the nearby Astrakhan Oblast.

According to official figures, almost 4,500 Russians, especially from the Caucasus, have fought with IS.