SCO anti-terrorist structure warns about threat of dormant militant cells
TASHKENT. Nov 1 (Interfax) - As a result of military pressure on militants in Syria, they are being pushed to the Afghan-Pakistani zone, but some are leaving for their home countries and elsewhere, the Director of the Executive Committee of the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure of SCO (RATS SCO), Yevgeny Sysoyev, said at a conference in Tashkent on Wednesday.
The threat of dormant cells is growing, and in these conditions, searches and joint resistance measures constitute the core of RATS SCO's operations, he said.
He said that the security services of SCO countries are trying to track everyone arriving from the conflict zone in the Middle East.
"We identify some, hold some criminally liable, but others succeed in infiltrating. Under false documents and in other covert ways," Sysoyev said.
He said that the special services of SCO countries are exchanging preventive information about the operations of ISIL, Jabhat al-Nusra (both banned in Russia), and several other terrorist organizations.
He said this helps keep the database of people leaving for the Middle East up to date and guarantees that searches for them are effective.
It has been reported that there are about 2,500 people in the RATS database who are wanted in SCO countries in connection to terrorism and extremism.
The RATS SCO conference devoted to "Resistance to terrorism - cooperation without borders" began in Tashkent on Wednesday.
It is being attended by representatives of the security services of SCO member-states as well as relevant international and inter-state organizations: UNODC, the CIS Antiterrorist Center, CSTO, OSCE, and the CIS Council of Commanders of Border Troops.
RATS SCO has its headquarters in Tashkent.