MOSCOW, Russia: Hours after Russian security officials said they foiled a plot by ISIS operatives in Afghanistan to shoot up a synagogue, the US embassy in Russia warned that “extremists” were planning an imminent attack in Moscow.
The embassy has repeatedly urged all US citizens to leave Russia immediately, without providing details on the nature of the threat, but said people should avoid concerts and crowds and be aware of their surroundings.
The embassy said on its website that it was monitoring reports that extremists had imminent plans to target large gatherings, including a concert in Moscow.
The warning came hours after Russia’s Federal Security Service, the main successor to the Soviet-era KGB, said it had foiled an attack by members of the ISIS on a Moscow synagogue. It is unclear whether the two statements are related.
The war in Ukraine caused the most serious crisis in the relations between Russia and the West since the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962. The Kremlin accuses the US of supporting Ukraine with money, weapons and intelligence in its fight against Russia.
The FSB is located in Russia’s Kaluga region, where ISIS cells are part of the Afghan branch of the group known as ISIS Khorasan, which seeks to establish a caliphate in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Iran.
The group first emerged in eastern Afghanistan in late 2014 and is known for its extreme brutality.
The FSB said the cell was “preparing to attack members of the synagogue using firearms.”
