23 terrorist attacks were prevented in 2017: FSB head Alexander Bortnikov

UFA, 22 December 2017. /Bashinform News Agency/. In 2017, officers of the Federal Security Bureau prevented 23 terrorist attacks, the head of the department Alexander Bortnikov told in an interview with Rossiyskaya Gazeta. "As a result of the measures taken over the last six years, the number of terrorist crimes committed in Russia has decreased by almost 10 times. Preventive work is being done to prevent radicalization, especially of young people, of their involvement in terrorist activities", the general noted.

Alexander Bortnikov said that the FSB's tasks included blocking the channels for the transfer of militants from zones of armed conflict in the Middle East, North Africa and the Afghan-Pakistani zone to Russia, as well as the channels for the departure of Russian citizens to these regions. To date, about 4,500 Russians were identified, who went abroad to participate in military operations on the side of terrorists. Over the past two years, more than 200 people have been denied exit from the country. Filtration measures are carried out in migration flows. More than one thousand people have been convicted since 2012 for organizing the channels of illegal migration.

Now a number of priorities includes a disclosure of "sleeping cells" of terrorist and extremist organizations, as well as opposition to individual militants, whose attacks have recently occurred in many countries.