MOSCOW, July 7 (Xinhua) -- Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) said Tuesday it had detained eight members of a terrorist group in the Republic of Kabardino-Balkaria in the North Caucasus, who were plotting attacks on law enforcement agencies to seize weapons.
The FSB said the operation, conducted jointly with the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Russian National Guard in the Baksan district, disrupted a clandestine cell linked to an international terrorist organization banned in Russia.
The suspects had pledged allegiance to an emissary of the group and were preparing armed attacks on law enforcement facilities in Kabardino-Balkaria, according to the agency.
Searches of the suspects' homes and a concealed cache uncovered 10 firearms, about 500 rounds of ammunition, 5 kg of gunpowder, 12 improvised incendiary devices and materials for making them, along with knives, radios, medical supplies and survival equipment, the FSB said.
Criminal cases have been opened on charges including preparing a terror act and participating in the activities of a terrorist organization. All suspects have been placed in pretrial detention pending further investigation. ■