Russian Intelligence Thwarts Terror Bomb Targets Ministry Of Defense Officials In Moscow, 4 Suspects Arrested

Illustration of the police and the K9 dog guarding security. (Unsplash)

JAKARTA - Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) thwarted a terrorist attack in Moscow targeting a top Russian Defense Ministry (Kemenhan) official on Monday, October 13 evening.

Citing Tass, the FSB reported the attack was allegedly organized under the direction of the special office of Ukraine. At least four suspects have been detained in connection with the attempted attack.

"The FSB has prevented sabotage and terrorist acts against one of the senior officials of the Russian Ministry of Defense, organized by the Ukrainian special service in coordination with leaders of the international terrorist organization ISIS (which is prohibited from being a terrorist organization in Russia)," the FSB wrote in a statement Monday, October 13.

The attack is reportedly planned to be carried out "by means of a method that endangers the public"

According to the FSB, the attack plans to target one of Moscow's densely populated districts.

The FSB is also reported to have secured a homemade bomb (IED) potentially damaging up to 70 meters. Meanwhile, the four perpetrators are three Russian nationals and a Central Asian citizen.

FSB intelligence said the mastermind in the planned terrorist attack in Moscow was Saidakbar Gulomov, an ISIS member wanted by Russia and Uzbekistan law enforcement agencies.

"On instructions from Ukrainian officers, S. Gulomov directed the perpetrators' actions remotely from Ukraine and several Western European countries using several foreign messaging applications," the press service said.

Gulomov, who was born in 1979, allegedly provided funds to extract information about the target, and provided materials to the perpetrators to assemble explosives, which were illegally smuggled into Russia by a special Ukrainian agency using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).