Bomber who targeted Moscow synagogue killed

Bomb attacks against Moscow synagogue and metro station foiled after would-be bomber killed in gun battle with security forces.

By World Israel News Staff

Bombing attacks targeting a synagogue and a metro station in the Russian capital city were foiled by Russian federal police, the country’s national security service announced Monday morning.

In a statement released by the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB), authorities said that an Islamist terrorist who was planning to bomb a “Jewish religious institution” in Moscow and a local metro station was shot and killed during a gun battle with FSB officers Sunday night.

The officers had been dispatched to arrest the would-be bomber when the terrorist opened fire on them, sparking a gunfight during which the suspect was fatally wounded.

According to the FSB statement, the terrorist was a Russian national born in a predominantly Muslim Central Asian republic.

The bomber’s plot was already in the advanced stages, the FSB said, noting that the terrorist had already conducted reconnaissance on his targets and acquired parts for the bombs.

After carrying out the bombings, authorities said, the terrorist planned to escape to Afghanistan, where he hoped to join a major terrorist organization.

Following the gun battle that led to the terrorist’s death, police searched his apartment, where they found weapons and materials used for preparing improvised explosive devices.

Alongside their statement Monday, the FSB released video footage of the aftermath of the gun battle, showing the terrorist’s body, handgun, and bomb parts.

Police said they found instructions on the terrorist’s phone for assembling improvised explosive devices.

The bombing plot comes almost exactly one year after Russian police claimed they had foiled a planned ISIS attack on a synagogue in Moscow.

In June of last year, Islamic terrorists in Dagestan carried out a series of attacks targeting churches and synagogues.