US citizens in Moscow are being warned to avoid large gatherings on Friday and Saturday due to growing concerns about terrorist attacks.
The US Embassy in the Russian capital said it was “monitoring reports that extremists have imminent plans to target large gatherings, including concerts in Moscow. People should be advised to avoid large gatherings.”
Americans should avoid crowds, monitor local media for updates and “be aware of your surroundings,” it said in a brief online update.
The embassy did not elaborate on who or what was posing an apparent threat to the Russian capital or what kind of attack was imminent.
However, Russia's Federal Security Service announced on Thursday that it had thwarted a planned attack on a synagogue in the Kaluga region, southwest of Moscow, by an Afghan offshoot of the Islamic State terrorist organization.
“In the territory of the Kaluga region, the activities of Wilayat Khorasan, an organization of the Afghan branch of the international terrorist organization Islamic State, banned in Russia, were suspended. Its members were planning terrorist acts against Afghanistan.” Moscow It is one of the Jewish religious sites in the country,” the FSB said in a statement given to the state-run TASS news agency.
The FSB said the group had planned to shoot the believers. He added that police officers engaged in a gunfight with the militants and then “neutralized” them.
The incident is being investigated in Russia as a conspiracy to commit a terrorist attack. The FSB said it searched a building used by the group and found firearms, ammunition and materials for making improvised explosive devices.
It was not immediately clear whether the FSB statement was related to the US embassy's warning.
The United States has repeatedly called on its citizens to leave Russia as relations between the two countries deteriorate over the Kremlin's invasion of Ukraine and the imprisonment of scores of Americans in Russian prisons.
Separately, on Thursday, the U.S. Embassy in Moscow announced that Russia has designated three U.S. educational and exchange organizations as “undesirable,” ending a 70-year-old tradition of young people traveling to each other's countries. He was strongly criticized for hitting.
The embassy said the decision was “a tragic example of the Kremlin's desire to isolate its citizens and deny them opportunities to network, expand their horizons, and contribute to building a more prosperous and peaceful world.” said.
Russia has summoned U.S. Ambassador Lynn Tracy to accuse the three non-governmental organizations of “conducting anti-Russian programs and projects aimed at recruiting 'influence agents' under the guise of education and cultural exchange.” It was announced that it would be prohibited because of the
