Russia Kills Own Soldier over 'Terrorism'

Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) killed a Russian soldier in the Karachay-Cherkess Republic who was suspected of having links to the Islamic State militant group (ISIS).

The individual, who was killed by the FSB in the village of Adil-Khalk in Russia's North Caucasus, was reported to be planning an attack on law enforcement officers. A Kalashnikov assault rifle and an improvised explosive device were found at the scene, Russia's state-run news agency RIA Novosti reported on Friday.

"The terrorist was also found to have correspondence with coordinators who are abroad," the publication reported, citing the federal security service.

Ethnic tensions flare sporadically in the volatile Karachay-Cherkessia region, which primarily represents the indigenous Caucasian-Turkic Karachay people and the Cherkess or Circassian people. The FSB in December said it arrested 14 suspected members of a radical Islamist group in the republic.

Baza, a Russian Telegram channel purporting to have links with Russia's security services, reported that the Russian serviceman was 25 years old and that he was suspected of having links to ISIS.

A criminal case was opened against the individual on Wednesday under the article "participation in a terrorist organization." On Thursday night, FSB offers attempted to detain him, Baza said.

"During the arrest, the military man resisted and was killed," the channel added.

Newsweek has contacted Russia's foreign ministry for comment by email.

In March, ISIS claimed responsibility for an attack on the Crocus City Hall music venue in Moscow which killed at least 140 people and injured scores more. It marked the deadliest attack on the capital for more than a decade.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on March 25 that "radical Islamists" carried out the attack, but also suggested without evidence that Kyiv may have "ordered" the attack and that the suspected attackers were detained while attempting to flee to neighboring Ukraine.

The U.S. Embassy in Moscow had warned residents earlier in March "that extremists have imminent plans to target large gatherings in Moscow" including "concerts."

Responding to Putin's accusations, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called the Russian leader "sick and cynical."

"Putin was talking to himself again, and it was again broadcast on television," Zelensky said at the time. "He accuses Ukraine. A sick and cynical creature. Everyone is a terrorist to him, except for himself, although he has been fueled by terror for two decades already.

"He is the biggest opening for terror," Zelensky added. "He and his special services. And when he is gone, the demand for terror and violence will disappear with him, because it is his demand. No one else's."

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