Posted on 10/02/2004 1:12:07 PM PDT by knighthawk
Russian authorities have arrested 11 members of the outlawed Hizbi Tahrir radical Islamist group for the possession of grenades, the ITAR-TASS news agency reports.
The report says the suspected militants have been arrested in the city of Nizhny-Novgorod, 400 kilometres east of Moscow, in a joint operation between police and the secret services (FSB).
All men, aged above 25, worked as traders in several markets in the city.
They included several foreign nationals, who all held valid residency papers.
Regional FSB officials quoted in the report say the suspects have been found in possession of "combat grenades, audio and video material as well as handwritten and printed pamphlets".
An investigation has been opened into "terrorist activities".
The Hizbi Tahrir, a Sunni movement founded in the Middle East in the 1950s, established itself in the former Soviet republics of Central Asia 10 years ago and reportedly wants to create an Islamic state in the region.
Russia's Supreme Court classified the group as a "terrorist" organisation in February 2003.
Ping
Wonder how many are going to suffer 'heart attacks'?
I wonder how many are being interrogated with power drills on their kneecaps
A little dental work can work wonders...
Remind me to call Amnesty International to intercede for those guys. Right after I finish my spring cleaning for 1999, which was interrupted for Y2K and has taken some time to get restarted.
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