MOSCOW, February 11. /TASS/. Terrorists controlled by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham organization (one of the names of the Jabhat al-Nusra group outlawed in Russia) are training militants to commit crimes in Russian cities, a law enforcement source said.

"Information has been received that the leaders of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham terrorist alliance (designated as a terrorist organization by the Russian Supreme Court’s decision on May 20, 2020) had turned their supporters’ focus toward committing crimes in various cities in Russia in places where mass street actions are held. To that end, the leaders of the Jaish al-Muhajireen wal-Ansar, Jama'at al-Tawhid wa'al-Jihad, Ajnad al-Kavkaz terror groups and other terrorist organizations that are part of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham are training the most trusted and experienced gunmen from among recruits of Russian origin or recruited in the countries bordering Russia," the source said.

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham is a coalition of Islamist groups led by Jabhat al-Nusra militants created on January 28, 2017. The group includes up to 20,000 militants who control most of Syria’s Idlib province.