MOSCOW, December 19. /TASS/. The director of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), Aleksandr Bortnikov, has declared that the militant underground in the North Caucasus has been wiped out.

"In fact, the militant underground in the North Caucasus has been eliminated," he told the Rossiiskaya Gazeta daily in an interview.

Bortnikov said that over the past five years, more than 9,500 people have been convicted of terrorism and extremism-related crimes. A large amount of weapons, ammunition and explosives has been seized.

According to the FSB chief, the number of terrorism-related crimes in Russia has decreased tenfold in the past six years.

"A total of 23 terrorist attacks have been prevented in 2017. Efforts are under way to prevent the radicalization of different social groups, first of all, the youth," he said.

Bortnikov added that various measures are being taken to prevent terrorist ideologies from spreading in Russia.

"The activities of more than 300 structural units of terrorist and extremist groups have been stopped," the official said.