Five Russians Arrested in France on Terror Charges
A group of Russians hailing from the restive region of Chechnya have been arrested in France over allegations they were attempting to plan and carry out a terror attack in France.
France 24 reports that four people were arrested in the French city of Montpellier while a fifth was apprehended in the nearby hamlet of Beziers. The police are reported to have discovered explosives after making the arrests.
RT reports that the Russian Foreign Ministry has confirmed all of the arrested are indeed Russian citizens. RT also says the suspects vary in age from 24-37.
At least some of the suspects are thought to have been under police surveillance for some time, with one suspected in a bombing that took place in 2008. RT reports that the French authorities said the arrests were not brought about by developments in the wake of attacks on Charlie Hebdo and a Jewish grocery that left 17 dead.
The Chechnya region from which the suspects hail is a hotbed of radical Islamist activity. Throughout the 1990s, Russia fought a fierce civil war in the area in effort to quash the independence aspirations of the area's Muslim majority population. President Vladimir Putin's ability to bring the region to heel was a major factor in his rise to power and consecutive electoral victories.
Although the region has quieted down, it is not immune to terror attacks. As recently as Dec., Islamist insurgents were able to take up positions in the Chechen capital of Grozny and attack police. Fierce fighting lasted for hours and claimed the lives of 10 police officers and the 10 terrorist attackers.
