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Ten-fold fall in terrorist activity in Russia over five years — Interior Ministry

According to deputy head of the Russian Interior Ministry Department for Combating Extremism, casualties are down substantially in the North Caucasus, which indicates stabilization
Anti-terror drills Vitaliy Nevar/TASS
Anti-terror drills
© Vitaliy Nevar/TASS

MOSCOW, November 12. /TASS/. Terrorist activity in Russia has fallen by more than 10 times over the past five years, including in the long-troubled North Caucasus region, show Interior Ministry statistics released on Thursday.

Ten-month figures to October this year charted 1,615 terrorist crimes in Russia, said Vladimir Makarov, deputy head of the Russian Interior Ministry Department for Combating Extremism.

"According to information provided by the National Anti-Terrorism Committee, as of October 1 the number of terrorist crimes decreased by 2.3 times on the same period last year," he said. "Not a single terrorist attack was allowed to happen," the official added.

Casualties were down substantially in the North Caucasus, he noted, "which indicates stabilization". "There is a whole spectrum of extremist and terrorist threats in our country," Makarov said. "Thanks to measures taken [by Russian law enforcement agencies], we are able to control the situation."