Russian newspaper Kommersant reports that suspected terrorists who were detained last Saturday in Moscow and St. Petersburg proved to be ordinary criminal hiding form justice in their countries.
Citing its sources Kommersant reports they have never been religious fanatics and they were going to join the Islamic State (IS) extremist group just only to hide from justice in their countries.
Suspicious phone conversations between them have constituted grounds for development of operation against them, according to Kommersant.
As it had been reported earlier, Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) said on November 12 it has detained 10 people with alleged links to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) extremist group on suspicion of plotting armed attacks in Moscow and St. Petersburg.
According to Interfax, 10 people originating from Central Asia, who were "planning to commit a series of high-profile acts of sabotage and terror in Moscow and St. Petersburg, were detained in an operation in conjunction with the law enforcement authorities of Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan.
The suspects reportedly testified to having contact with ISIS leaders.
They were suspected of plotting to murder civilians in busy public places using automatic weapons and powerful homemade explosive devices, according to the FSB public relations center.
During raids on Saturday, the FSB said it confiscated four homemade bombs as well as trigger devices, guns, ammunition and communications equipment.
Rossiiskaya Gazeta reported on November 13 that the 10 suspects were members of an ISIS cell that was planning attacks similar to the coordinated terrorist attacks in Paris on November 13, 2015, that killed 130 people.
According to the newspaper, the Russian law enforcement authorities think the group planned to carry out attacks in Russian cities to mark the anniversary of the Paris attacks, which included a massacre of 90 people at a rock concert Paris's Bataclan Theater.
Under Russia’s legislation, membership in a terrorist organization is punishable by 10-20 years in prison while leading one is punishable by up to life in jail.
Meanwhile, Tajik Interior Ministry’s website has reported that Tajik police were first to get information about a plot to conduct a series of terror attacks in Russian large cities.
