MOSCOW, March 10. /TASS/. Over 1,000 attempted terrorist attacks have been thwarted in Russia over the past 20 years, more than 2,500 militants eliminated and some 17,000 of their accomplices detained, Alexander Bortnikov, Federal Security Service (FSB) director and chairman of the National Anti-Terrorism Committee (NAC), said.
"Over the past two decades alone, more than 1,000 attempted terrorist attacks were prevented, over 2,500 militants were eliminated and some 17,000 of their accomplices were detained as a result of the coordinated actions of law enforcement forces on the territory of Russia," Bortnikov said at a session dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the NAC's founding, which was established by a presidential decree on March 10, 2006.
Some 18,000 weapons, 71,000 munitions, 25,000 metric tons of explosives and over 5,000 improvised explosive devices have been seized within this period, he added.
Bortnikov recalled that in response to the massive international terrorism attacks occurring on Russian soil in the early 2000s, the president of Russia initiated the formation of a nationwide system to combat terrorism that concentrated all resources of the state and society to effectively combat this threat.
After the federal law "On the Fight Against Terrorism" was adopted in 2006, an interdepartmental collegial body was formed - the National Anti-Terrorism Committee - given the authority to prepare proposals to the head of state and coordinate the activities of all structures in the fight against terrorism.