MINSK, December 13. /TASS/. Members of seven illegal formations located in Poland are preparing to carry out terrorist attacks in Belarus, Chairman of the State Security Committee of the Republic of Belarus Ivan Tertel told journalists.

"Seven groups are currently plotting terrorist attacks where they will seize facilities on Belarusian territory. The most aggressive group is training in Bialystok on 6a Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski Street. It is led by [Belarusian] citizen Asadulaev, born in 1991, who once studied at the Military Academy [of the Republic of Belarus] and fled abroad. He hides under the pseudonym Shliakhtich. This is one of the most aggressive structures," the BelTA news agency quoted the head of the Belarusian security service.

Tertel said that Minsk knows the names of the Polish security officers who lead these illegal formations. "We believe that this is unacceptable. We don't use such a practice and we don't think it's good," said the KGB chairman. Moreover, he warned his Ukrainian, Polish, and Baltic counterparts that these activities could backfire on them. "We have repeatedly received information that this crowd would like to commit 1939-style provocations. We remember where World War II started - with a provocation by Germans dressed as Poles," Tertel added.

Furthermore, he said, left unchecked, these formations could turn against their handlers. "This has happened repeatedly. We know the situation with ISIS (Islamic State terrorist group, outlawed in Russia - TASS) and their long history with US intelligence services. Our foreign colleagues could be facing the same fate," said the head of the Belarusian KGB.

In November 2022, the Belarusian Interior Ministry recognized the citizens' group Pospolite ruszenie as an extremist formation consisting of five structural units: Gdansk Group, Wroclaw Group, Vilnius Group, Warsaw Group and Bialystok Group. The actions of their founders, leaders and members constitute a crime, which, according to Article 361-1 of the Belarusian Criminal Code, is punishable by up to seven years in prison.

Minsk also stated earlier that after the training, the members of these groups would return to Belarus to carry out sabotage, terrorist and spy activity. The Interior Ministry went on to say that these agents would be used to destabilize the situation in the country during the 2024-2025 election campaigns.