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FSB nabs Hizb ut-Tahrir militants in nationwide anti-terror sweep

According to the FSB, the organization’s members were active online, spreading the ideas of Islamic terrorism

© Vitaly Nevar/TASS

MOSCOW, February 18. /TASS/. The Federal Security Service (FSB) has detained members of the Hizb-ut Tahrir terrorist organization, outlawed in Russia, in ten regions of the country, the FSB said in a statement.

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"The Federal Security Service, the National Guard and the Interior Ministry have carried out joint special operations in Crimea, Moscow, St. Petersburg, the Primorsky, Krasnodar, Bashkortostan, Dagestan, Oryol, Kaluga and Ivanovo regions, detaining members of the Hizb-ut Tahrir international terrorist organization," the statement reads.

According to the FSB, "the organization’s members were active online, spreading the ideas of Islamic terrorism, based on intolerance towards other religions, among Russian residents, and recruited Russian Muslims into the ranks of the international terrorist organization."

Criminal cases have been opened against seven of those detained. The FSB pointed out that the organization’s doctrine was aimed at establishing the so-called worldwide caliphate by overthrowing secular governments in military coups and "Islamic revolutions."

Banned Hizb ut-Tahrir propaganda materials, communication equipment and digital storage devices were seized from the homes of the detained suspects. A criminal investigation is underway.

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