Russia exposes the list of most wanted terrorists

More than 200 terrorist acts have been prevented in Russia in 2004

The Russian Federal Security Bureau revealed the list of persons, who pose the biggest danger to the security of the nation, FSB Director Nikolai Patrushev told reporters yesterday.

The FSB director said that the list included Chechen terrorist leaders: Shamil Basayev, Aslan Maskhadov, Doku Umarov, and Al-Qaida terrorists Abu Havs, Abu-Tari. As for foreign extremists, Patrushev named Movladi Udugov – one of the central ideologists of Chechen terrorists. In addition, Patrushev stressed out, the Russian counterintelligence detected the network of the international terrorist organization Al-Qaida, which conducted its subversive activities in Russia's south. The official added that there were about ten Al-Qaida terrorists in Russia's North Caucasus. The Federal Security Bureau knows about them and carries out the necessary work to destroy the terrorists.

Russian special services have destroyed over 200 guerrillas since the beginning of the current year, including such renowned insurgents as Abu al-Valid, Ruslan Gelaev and other Chechen terrorist leaders. New, well-trained terrorists continue coming to Russia from abroad, though. When warlord Khattab was killed, he was replaced with another terrorist leader – Abu Havs.

According to Patrushev, the FSB cannot detect, arrest or destroy international terrorists without the support of other branches of power. Nikolai Patrushev backed up the idea of establishing a special agency in Russia, which would coordinate the activity of all anti-terrorist structures.

As far as FSB's activity in Chechnya is concerned, Patrushev emphasized that counter-terrorist operations in the region allowed to achieve a required level of law and order and public security in the Chechen republic, speed up the recreation of the republic's social field and economy.

Special services arrested more than 900 gunmen, withdrew 1,500 units of weaponry, destroyed 800 ammunition depots and terrorist bases. Russian special troops released more than 20 hostages, including the chairman of Doctors Without Borders department in Dagestan, Aryan Erkel (the Netherlands), and an employee of another humanitarian organization, Miriam Evikova (Slovakia).

More than 200 terrorist acts have been prevented in Russia in 2004: in Moscow, Stavropol, Rostov-on-Don, in the Volgograd region and in Chechnya, where terrorists were going to explode two vehicles filled with 150 kilograms of explosives.

Patrushev also said that Russian security agencies withdrew over 2,000 units of firearms in 2004, about one million units of ammunition, 3,000 bombs and almost eleven tons of explosives.

The FSB director added that the special services registered over 1,600 facts of anonymous terrorist and extremist threats in 2004. Three hundred anonymous callers have been identified; 94 criminal cases have been filed on the facts of false information telephone calls. Sixteen people have been convicted on such cases.

Nikolai Patrushev pointed out that the Federal Security Bureau suppressed the activities of 18 foreign agents in Russia. Two of them were called into criminal account afterwards.

The FSB head said that the intelligence activity of certain foreign special services and organizations against Russia posed a real and serious threat to the country's national interests and security. The Russian Federal Security Bureau, Nikolai Patrushev said, cooperates with 98 special services from 68 countries of the world.