FSB: 60 Salafis were detained in an underground prayer house in Samara and explosives were found

Approximately 60 people were detained in an underground Salafist prayer house in Samara, told TASS. a representative of the FSB regional department

“During the operation at the gathering place of the Salafi cell in the city of Samara, about 60 people were detained. We had information regarding a number of people from this cell who are now participating in the armed conflict in Syria in illegal armed groups,” said the FSB representative. The detainees are in the Krasnoglinsky district police department of the city, they are being questioned.

According to a representative of the department, an improvised explosive device was found in the room, which they could not defuse: “It had to be destroyed on the spot.”

TASS clarifies that while the explosives were being detonated, traffic was stopped along the section of the M5 federal highway adjacent to the house. According to the agency, the column of flame from the explosion reached 15 meters in height; as a result of the incident, part of the outbuildings to the house was damaged.

An Interfax source said that as a result of the search, several kilograms of explosives were found. As the agency's interlocutor noted, this Salafi community was not controlled by the Muslim clergy. The building of the prayer house was located in the village of Krasny Pakhar within the city.

An FSB operative said that one of the people from this community is Ruslan Kandeev, a former resident of Samara. “At one time there was a video on YouTube, an appeal from ISIS (the organization is recognized as terrorist and banned in Russia) - Ruslan Kandeev read it out,” said a department official. According to him, extremist literature was also found as a result of the search.