Alexander Bortnikov, head of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB), revealed that security services in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries, in cooperation with the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB), thwarted 550 terrorist attacks last year.
"The special services of the CIS countries managed to thwart 550 terrorist and extremist crimes last year," Bortnikov, who also serves as chairman of the Council of Heads of Special Security Services of the Commonwealth of Independent States, told participants in a meeting of the CIS countries' counterterrorism agencies.
He added, "The identities of more than 5,500 terrorists, extremists, and mercenaries have been identified, and more than 1,500 convicted of these crimes have been tried."
Bortnikov noted that the North Caucasus remains a target for international terrorist organizations, with the situation there deteriorating amid ongoing attempts to impose extremist religious ideology.
