An investigation into two men accused of planning terrorist attacks in Russia's northern Khanty-Mansiisk autonomous district is over and the case will go to trial, the Investigative Committee said in an online statement Thursday.
Rizvan Agashirinov and Abdula Magomedaliyev are charged with illegally manufacturing and possessing weapons, attempting a terrorist attack, endangering the life of a law enforcement officer, breaking into a house and the illegal deprivation of liberty, the statement said.
Investigators say Agashirinov and Magomedaliyev were part of a radical Islamic group that was operating in Turkey and Khanty-Mansiisk. They were planning an attack on a mosque in the latter region in 2013-14, and attempted to explode a homemade bomb in April 2014.
Magomedaliyev also smuggled illegally bought weapons from Russia's southern republic of Dagestan and stored them in the Khanty-Mansiisk city of Nizhnevartovsk, the probe revealed. In May 2014 he was stopped by police officers and asked to show his ID, but instead of doing so he fired a gun at them, ran away, broke into a house and took the family who lived there hostage.
Four other members of the gang are on an international wanted list, the statement said. According to the Investigative Committee, they are actively involved in the activities of the Islamic State terrorist organization.
