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Russia's Ingushetia leader sees no big role of IS in terror attacks in North Caucasus

According to Yunus-bek Yevkurov, there has been no visible activity of such groups or their members in the region over the past two years
Yunus-bek Yevkurov  Sergey Savostyanov/TASS
Yunus-bek Yevkurov
© Sergey Savostyanov/TASS

MOSCOW, April 11. /TASS/. The president of Russia’s North Caucasian republic of Ingushetia believes the activity of Islamic State (terrorist group outlawed in Russia) in the republic and in the region on the whole is not significant.

"So far we don’t see a distinct role of this group. Literally two years ago, one group was destroyed," Yunus-bek Yevkurov told Rossiya 24 television, noting that since then there has been no visible activity of such groups or their members in the region.

Terrorists have been recruiting allies through the internet in the past two years, in order to more actively involve youngsters from the North Caucasus, he said.

As of the present moment, secret services of Ingushetia have registered 97 suspects of whom 54 people have been or are on the territory of IS or have been destroyed, while the others are shadowed, the republican leader said.

On March 9, 2016, some 20 unidentified people attacked a bus carrying journalists and human right activists from Ingushetia to Chechnya. Six people were wounded and four were hospitalized.