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Foreigner who wanted to fight for IS detained in Russia

According to the FSB, the detainee was collecting information about places of mass gatherings and particularly was taking pictures for his curators, detailing their configurations and locations

© Vitaliy Nevar/TASS

BARNAUL, June 7. /TASS/. A foreign national who was planning to fight for the Islamic State (IS) terrorist organization has been detained in Russia’s Barnaul airport, the press service for the Altai Region regional branch of the Federal Security Service (FSB) said Tuesday.

"A Central Asia national born in 1998 was detained in Barnaul Titov International Airport when trying to fly to Moscow to later head to the Middle East to fight in IS armed units," the statement reads.

The branch also said that the man exchanged letters with a person residing abroad, where he expressed intention to join the terrorist organization and travel to the conflict zone.

According to the FSB, the detainee was collecting information about places of mass gatherings and particularly was taking pictures for his curators, detailing their configurations and locations. Moreover, he set up and activated a secret communication channel on the Internet which was meant to be used "to resolve issues of terrorist nature." The foreigner himself explained that he had done it intentionally to communicate with his "Mujahideen brothers."

The FSB regional branch launched criminal proceedings on the count of preparing to take part in terrorist organization activities. The Central Asian national has been indicted, he is arrested for two months.

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