SOCHI, October 17. /TASS/. Natives from 100 countries participated in hostilities in Syria on the terrorists’ side and their return to the countries they once left currently poses the worst threat to international security, the director of Russia’s federal security service FSB, Alexander Bortnikov, said on Thursday.
"Very much time (at the 18th international conference of special and law enforcement services having relations of partnership with the FSB) was paid to assessing the situation in the Middle East. The Islamic State (terrorist organization outlawed in Russia) suffered military defeat, but we are well aware that we will have to spend a long time to address this problem, because terrorism as such and its structures are undergoing transformation. The militants are about to migrate to other regions. New cells are emerging on the basis of the old organizations," Bortnikov told the media on Thursday.
He sees the worst threat in the migration of militants from Syria back to the countries where they come from.
"An enormous number of armed groups, about 100 countries participated in hostilities on the terrorists’ side in Syria. Their migration to other regions and the countries of origin constitutes the worst threat today," Bortnikov said.
The Sochi conference considered a variety of measures to address this problem.
"Ways of exposing the militants using the migration and refugee channels were discussed. Attention was paid to the need for enhancing the effectiveness of filtration work on the border and informing each other about the persons who come to the special services’ notice. Such persons are well instructed in methods of combat operations and pose a threat to all of us," Bortnikov said.