The FSB's warning came after the Russian military last week declared Syria "liberated" from the Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling
Allaharound with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not
reallyMoslems....
group, and after a visit on Monday by President Vladimir Putin
...Second and fourth President and sixth of the Russian Federation and the first to remain sober. Putin is credited with bringing political stability and re-establishing something like the rule of law, which occasionally results in somebody dropping dead from polonium poisoning. Under Putin, a new group of business magnates controlling significant swathes of Russia's economy has emerged, all of whom have close personal ties to Putin. The old bunch, without close personal ties to Putin, are in jail or in exile or dead...to Russia's airbase in the war-ravaged country.
Russia first intervened in the Syrian conflict in 2015, staging air strikes in support of
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneckal-Assad
Oppressor of the Syrians and the Lebs...
which targeted both IS and other jihadists as well as rebels fighting government troops.
As many as 40,000 fighters travelled from all over the world, including Russia, to join IS in Russia after the 2014 declaration of its self-styled "caliphate" straddling Syria and Iraq.
In 2015, Russian security services estimated that 2,900 Russian citizens had joined IS, as well as "several thousands" from Central Asia.
Now that IS' "caliphate" has all but collapsed, its "leaders and fighters are looking for ways to continue their terrorist activities in the territory of other countries, including Russia", FSB director Alexander Bortnikov was quoted by Russian agencies as saying.
"The return of former members of illegal gangs from the Middle East to Russia poses a real danger" as they can form sleeper cells and recruit new members, he added.
- Attacks thwarted -
Bortnikov said the security services had ensured the Confederations Cup ran smoothly this year.
They will draw on this experience to ensure they prevent attacks on venues in 13 cities hosting the World Cup from June 14 to July 15 next year.
"Our priority is to secure locations where crowds will gather, as well as energy infrastructure sites ... and sports venues that will host the 2018 football World Cup, to ensure they are not targets for terror attacks," Bortnikov said.
The FSB has thwarted attacks, including a suicide kaboom, that an IS cell from southern Russia was planning for the upcoming New Year holidays and early next year, a statement carried by Russian news agencies said.
Another assault was being planned for the presidential campaign, it added.
Security forces in a raid locked away
You have the right to remain silent...
three people and seized explosives and automatic weapons, it said.
Russia will hold a presidential election in March 2018, with the campaign officially expected to start later this month, following an announcement by Putin that he will stand for a fourth time.