2 alleged ISIL fighters arrested in Moscow
Two suspected ISIL fighters, named Akhmed Amirkhanov and Kerim Khatiyev, have been detained in Moscow and placed in police custody for the next two months, until their trial.
According to the Russian news agency Interfax, Amerkhanov and Khatiyev, who are both from Russia’s North Caucasus region, are suspected of participating in the conflict in Syria on the side of ISIL. The are facing charges of partaking in an armed conflict in a foreign country.
The pro-Kremlin news channel LifeNews reports that the two men were detained at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport after arriving from Syria.
“The court has issued arrest warrants to the investigator for detaining Akhdmed Amirkhanov and Kerim Khatiyev for a period until November 23,” press secretary Julia Skotnikova told TASS.
- ISIS is officially considered to be an extremist organization in Russia. Earlier this year, two students from Moscow universities ran away to join the group.
- For more on the Islamic State and Russia, see *Jihadi brides, ISIL charities, and online propaganda: The anatomy of the Islamic State’s activities in Russia*