Russian President Vladimir Putin said that terrorist groups intend to expand their operations in Syria by recruiting soldiers from former Soviet countries.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said yesterday that terrorist groups intend to expand their operations in Syria and further destabilize the region by recruiting fighters from former Soviet countries.

President Putin said that over the past year, Russian security forces have prevented 20 terrorist attacks, killed 112 militants and arrested more than 560 others.

Russian President Vladimir Putin. (Photo: RTE)

The Russian president also expressed concern about the increasing number of Russian citizens fighting abroad, including up to 2,000 fighters joining the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS) group that is raging in Iraq and Syria. Recently, the Al Nusra Front, an offshoot of the Al Qaeda terrorist network, also called on jihadists in the Caucasus region to attack targets in Russia in revenge for the country's air campaign in Syria. Therefore, according to Mr. Putin, Russia's intervention in Syria has demonstrated the country's ability to prevent any threat.

Speaking at a meeting with senior military officials at the Kremlin, President Putin said: "A difficult international environment requires increased counter-terrorism activity at home and abroad. We need to continue it vigorously and effectively. In this regard, it is extremely important to expose the links between militants in Russia and international terrorist groups."

Russia claims to have hit 500 terrorist targets since launching its air campaign in Syria on September 30. However, the US and Western countries still believe that Russia's campaign is simply to support Syrian President Bashar al-Assad./.

According to VOV