Russia says it thwarted Islamic State plot to attack Moscow synagogue

Russia’s FSB security service said Thursday it had killed Islamic State militants who were planning a “terrorist attack” on a Moscow synagogue, Russian state news agencies reported.

The FSB said an ISIS cell based in Kaluga, southwest of Moscow, had been planning to shoot Jewish worshippers at a synagogue in the capital.

“While being arrested, the terrorists put up armed resistance to the Russian FSB officers, and as a result were neutralized by return fire,” the state-owned TASS news agency quoted the security service as saying in a statement.

“Firearms, ammunition, as well as components for the manufacture of an improvised explosive device were found and seized,” it added.

The Zvezda news outlet, close to Russia’s army and security apparatus, published an FSB video appearing to show two dead bodies inside a house, alongside guns, ammunition, and knives found during a search.