MOSCOW, October 10. /TASS/. Western intel services are seeking to destabilize the social and political situation in North Caucasus, said Federal Security Service (FSB) Director Alexander Bortnikov, who heads Russia’s National Anti-Terrorism Committee (NAC).

"In his address, the NAC head said that international terrorist organizations have been active in the region and that threats have been growing amid the special military operation. Western intelligence services have been making continued attempts to destabilize the social and political situation in North Caucasus," the NAC said.

According to it, "Since 2022, two terrorist crimes have been committed in the North Caucasus Federal District, with another 37 plotted being thwarted." The foiled attacks had been plotted by supporters of the Islamic State (IS or ISIS, an organization banned in Russia) or people who had been recruited by Ukrainian intel services and neo-Nazi organizations, the NAC added.