The CIA reportedly tipped off Russian security forces about an impending terror attack planned for St. Petersburg last weekend, President Vladimir Putin revealed in a thank you call to U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday.
Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) announced on Friday that it detained seven suspected members of an Islamic State (IS) sleeper cell preparing a suicide attack in St. Petersburg the next day. IS is a terrorist organization banned in Russia.
"The information received from the CIA was enough to locate and detain the criminals,” the Kremlin said in an English-language statement.
The CIA reportedly provided advanced warning of the plan to set off explosions at the Kazansky Cathedral and other public places in St. Petersburg.
In its readout of the phone call, the White House said “Russian authorities were able to capture the terrorists just prior to an attack that could have killed large numbers of people.”
After his conversation with Putin, Trump called CIA Director Mike Pompeo to commend him “on a job well done!"
The CIA declined to comment the information and referred journalists to the White House, the state-run RIA Novosti news agency reported.
