Russia foils ‘terrorist‘ attack

MOSCOW: Russian security services (FSB) said Sunday they killed “terrorists” who were planning an attack near the city of Saratov in southwest Russia.

The incident came a week before Russia’s presidential election on March 18 and three months before the country hosts the 2018 World Cup.“Following an investigation and searches in the region of Saratov, the FSB foiled a planned terrorist attack by members of a secret terrorist cell,” the FSB said in a statement.

“There was an exchange of gunfire between the security forces and the criminals during which they were fatally wounded,” it added, without specifying the number of people killed.In a video released by the FSB, the bodies apparently of two men are seen near a car with its windows shattered on a snowy road.

The security services also said they recovered pistols, homemade grenades and an explosive device with three kilos of TNT in Saratov, about 800 kilometers (500 miles) from Moscow.