The FSB said it had detained a Russian citizen in Yaroslavl who is suspected of preparing to set fire to a local synagogue. TASS reported this, citing the security service’s public relations center.
The agency claims the detainee is a supporter of an international terrorist organization. According to investigators, he was acting on instructions from a handler based in Syria and had purchased components for making Molotov cocktails in advance.
The FSB says the man planned to attack a Jewish religious institution in Yaroslavl and then travel to Syria in order, as the agency alleges, to join the ranks of the terrorist organization.
According to the security service, the suspect had also photographed the synagogue building. Officers say they found ready-made improvised incendiary devices at his home, along with instructions that investigators believe came from the Syrian handler.
In a video released by law enforcement, the detainee says he was supposed to set fire to the synagogue on the orders of “one person” and links this to the conflict between Palestine and Israel.
A criminal case has been opened against him on charges of preparing a terrorist attack and participating in the activities of a terrorist organization. The report does not provide independent confirmation of the FSB’s account.