US embassy in Moscow says there is risk of imminent attack by ‘extremists’ in city

The US embassy in Moscow, Russia’s capital, recommended on Thursday avoid crowded places in the city for the next 48 hours. The embassy said it was monitoring reports that a group of “extremists” (it did not specify what type) was planning to carry out an armed attack in crowded places.

A few hours earlier, the Russian secret services (FSB) had said they had “neutralized” a cell of ISIS-K, a terrorist group affiliated with ISIS active mainly in Afghanistan and Central Asia. According to the FSB, the group, discovered in a region southwest of Moscow, planned an attack against a synagogue in Moscow. It is unclear whether the FSB and US Embassy announcements are linked.