Ottawa is calling on Canadian nationals in Moscow to avoid large gatherings and to remain on guard in public places due to an “imminent risk of terrorism.”
Global Affairs Canada shared an advisory issued Thursday by the U.S. Embassy in Russia that said it has reports “indicating that extremists have imminent plans to target mass gatherings in Moscow, including performances.”
“American citizens are advised to avoid mass gatherings over the next 48 hours,” the embassy continues in its message reproduced on the federal agency’s website.
The United States Embassy in Russia does not further detail the nature of the imminent risk of terrorism that it mentions.
The Russian security services (FSB), however, declared Thursday that they had foiled a planned attack by an Afghan branch of the Islamic State terrorist group against a synagogue in the Kaluga region, southwest of Moscow, according to the American channel NBC .
“ […] The activities of Wilayat Khorasan, a cell of the Afghan branch of the international terrorist organization Islamic State banned in Russia and whose members planned to commit a terrorist act against one of the Jewish religious institutions in Moscow, have been stopped,” indicates the FSB in a statement given to the Russian news agency TASS.
The FSB specifies that the group planned to shoot at the members of the congregation, adding that its agents had engaged in a shootout with the militants before “neutralizing” them, again according to the TASS press release cited by NBC.
Due to the impacts of the armed conflict with Ukraine which has been ongoing since 2022, Global Affairs Canada has already advised its nationals to avoid any travel to the country citing “partial military mobilization, restrictions on financial transactions and the increasingly limited supply of air connections.
“If you are in Russia, you should leave while commercial options are still available. If you stay in Russia, stay discreet. Canadians with Russian citizenship could be mobilized for compulsory military service,” indicates the federal agency on its website.