Russia’s FSB detains ISIS cell members planning attacks in St. Petersburg

The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) has detained seven people suspected of being members of a terrorist cell linked to Islamic State, the agency reported. A series of bombings was planned for Saturday, it said.

The attacks were planned to involve “a suicide bomber blowing [himself] up inside a religious facility and the murder of civilians with improvised explosive devises in places of mass gatherings,” the FSB statement said.

The cell members were detained overnight from Wednesday to Thursday, the FSB reported. During the raid, law enforcement agents seized “a large amount of explosive materials, elements of IEDs, automatic arms, ammunition and extremist literature.” A bomb-making workshop was dismantled as part of the bust.

The statement stressed that the cell was coordinating its plans with IS masterminds via a Telegram messenger chat channel.