MOSCOW, July 13. /TASS/. Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) has exposed a group of supporters of the Islamic State organization, outlawed in Russia, who planned to carry out terrorist attacks on schools and hospitals in the Rostov region, the FSB said in a statement on Monday.

"The FSB branch in the Rostov region has exposed a clandestine cell of the Islamic State international terrorist organization, which consisted of six residents of the region, including the citizens of Central Asian countries and Russia. They planned to attack police officers and carry out terrorist attacks on medical and educational facilities," the statement reads.

When FSB officers tried to detain the cell’s ringleader, he opened fire from a Kalashnikov assault rifle and detonated an improvised explosive device, suffering fatal wounds. The other five members of the group were detained in the city of Rostov-on-Don.

"A homemade explosive device, automatic firearms and ammunition, as well as drugs, were seized during searches of their homes," the FSB added. Criminal cases have been opened under Articles 205, 222 and 317 of the Russian Criminal Code (terrorist attack, arms trafficking, attempt on the life of a law enforcement officer.