Russian General: Chechen Guerillas Planned Terrorist Acts Abroad

Maj.Gen. Ilya Shabalkin, representative of the Regional Operative Staff (ROSh) for coordination of anti-terrorist operation in the North Caucasus told Interfax that groups of Chechen guerillas discovered in the highlands yesterday “were heading through [Russia’s Federal Republic of] Dagestan to somewhere outside of Russia and [were planning] to use explosive devices in terrorist acts.”

Shabalkin said the caches of explosive devices were discovered in the Vedeno district of Chechnya, near the villages of Eelistangi and Ersenoy.

The Russian General’s indication that guerillas planned to move “through Dagestan to somewhere outside of Russia” identifies either Georgia or Azerbaijan as likely targets for the terrorists.

Notably, this is the first time that a Russian military official has spoken about the terrorist threat in Russia posing a real threat to its neighboring countries as well. ROSh has been notorious for insisting that the terrorist threat to Russia persists from Georgia’s Pankisi Gorge.