Russia claimed to have detained an Islamic State (IS) suicide bomber who was planning to attack a senior government leadership figure in India, reported Russian news agency RIA Novosti on Monday.
A video released by the news agency purports to show the man, who identifies himself as 'Azamov', confessing to the plot. The man is believed to be a citizen of a country in Central Asia.
"In 2022 ... I flew to Russia, from where he was supposed to go to India. In India, I was supposed to be met and given all the necessary things to commit a terrorist attack on the instructions of the Islamic State for insulting the Prophet Muhammad," the detainee said in the video.
Meanwhile, Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB), the country's intelligence agency, released its own statement regarding the detainment of the ISIS terrorist.
"The FSB in Russia identified and detained a member of the international terrorist organization Islamic State, banned in the country, a native of a country in the Central Asian region, who planned to commit a terrorist act by self-detonation against one of the representatives of the ruling circles of India," the release by the FSB said.
The detained was recruited by one of the IS leaders as a suicide bomber in Turkey, the statement added.
Islamic State and all its manifestations have been notified as Terrorist Organization and included in the First Schedule to the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 by the Central Government.
Following the row stirred by former BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma's comments on the Islamic Prophet Mohammed, the Islamic State has threatened to carry out attacks across India.
The Islamic State Khurasan Province (IS-KP), operating in the Indian subcontinent, released a 50-page document on the same issue with pictures of Prime Minister Narendra Modi petting a cow. It had called for attacks on India and against Indian interests.
What is the FSB?
The FSB is the principal security agency of Russia and the main successor agency to the Soviet Union's KGB.
Its primary responsibilities are within the country and include counter-intelligence, internal and border security, counter-terrorism, and surveillance as well as investigating some other types of serious crimes and federal law violations.
It is headquartered in Lubyanka Square, Moscow's center, in the main building of the former KGB. The director of the FSB is appointed by and directly answerable to the president of Russia.
