Russian security services say they have prevented an attack planned by a terrorist cell. An improvised explosive device and a hand grenade were found in a car during an operation in the western Saratov region.

A statement on Sunday’s operation was released by the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB), although it gave few details.

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The members of the terrorist cell were shot dead as they opened fire at security forces, who tried to stop their car. Guns, a hand grenade and a homemade 3kg TNT explosive device were found at the scene, according to the FSB.

Saratov is around 800km to the southeast of Moscow. The security services have launched a criminal investigation into the terrorist plot.

In February, the FSB prevented a string of terrorist attacks targeting public places and public transport in St. Petersburg. Earlier that month, the security forces eliminated a terrorist suspect linked to Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) in the Russian city of Nizhny Novgorod, who was plotting a high-profile attack during the 2018 presidential election. Another terrorist attack targeting the vote and New Year’s festivities was thwarted in mid-December last year.

In 2017 alone, the security services foiled more than 60 terrorism-related plots, including 18 attacks, according to the FSB’s director and head of the National Anti-Terrorist Committee, Aleksandr Bortnikov.