ROSTOV-ON-DON REGION, RUSSIA – JULY 15, 2019: Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) officers detain two members of a cell of the Islamic State terrorist organization (banned in Russia). Video screen grab/ Russian Federal Security Service/TASS.
On February 22, the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) announced that it had detained five people suspected of collecting money to provide financial support to the Syria-based al-Qaeda-affiliated Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) terror group.
In a statement, the security service said that the suspects were apprehended on the territory of Moscow as well as in the Kirov and Penza Regions.
“It has been established that the detainees shared the ideology of the international terrorist organization and followed instructions from top organizers within the terrorist organization, regularly channeling money to the accounts of militants located in the terrorist-controlled de-escalation zone of the Syrian Arab Republic in Idlib,” the statement reads.
Communication equipment, payment-transfer devices as well as documents proving the suspects illegal activities were confiscated from their residences.
HTS, which is designated by Russia as a terrorist group, controls the northwestern Syrian region of Greater Idlib. The terrorist group is known to have some members in Russia. Notably, the group stepped up its activities within Russia after the start of the special military operation in Ukraine around a year ago.
Russian forces in Syria conduct operations against HTS on a regular basis. Despite posing a serious security threat, some in the West have been making efforts to whitewash the terrorist group and its leader, Abu Mohamad al-Julani.
