Russian Police Detain Suspected Recruiter For Extremist Groups

Authorities in Moscow have detained a man on suspicion that he is a recruiter for extremist organizations.

Russian Interior Ministry spokeswoman Irina Volk said on April 27 that the suspect was detained as a result of a special operation.

According to Volk, police and security officers found a bomb and several grenades in an apartment rented by the man in the town of Khimki near Moscow.

The suspect was identified as "a 23-year-old citizen of an Asian country." 

Volk said the man is suspected of "recruiting fighters for international extremist religious groups" among Moscow residents from Central Asia and the Caucasus.

Russian officials have said at least 5,000 citizens of Russia and other former Soviet republics have traveled to Syria and Iraq to join the militant group that calls itself Islamic State.

Based on reporting by TASS and Interfax