The U.S. embassy in Moscow issued an alert Thursday advising Americans to avoid large crowds in the city for the next 48 hours, due to the possibility of extremists targeting large gatherings.
The alert comes amid reports Thursday that the country's Federal Security Service (FSB) killed Islamic State group militants who were planning a "terrorist attack" on a Moscow synagogue, The Times of Israel reported.
FSB said an Islamic State group cell in Kaluga, which is southwest of Moscow, had been planning an attack.
"While being arrested, the terrorists put up armed resistance to the Russian FSB officers and, as a result, were neutralized by return fire," the state-run TASS news agency quoted FSB, according to the report.
A journalist who posts on X as "The Informant" also reported the incident.
It's unclear if the reported incident is what prompted the U.S. alert.
The alert says there are reports of "imminent plans" by extremists to attack large gatherings, including concerts. It didn't identify a group.
In addition, the embassy advises Americans to monitor local media and be aware of their surroundings.
Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.
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