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FEDERAL SECURITY SERVICE THINKS GLOBAL ANTI-TERRORIST COALITION IS FORMED

Moscow, September 5, 2002. /From RIA Novosti correspondent Valery Yarmolenko/--Lieutenant-General Ivan Mironov, deputy head of the anti-terrorist department and head of the strategic and investigation department of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB), told RIA Novosti that the investigation of major terrorist centres was a priority of FSB departments now.

According to him, terrorist organizations that plan terrorist attacks, train terrorists and influence their minds ideologically as well as directly prepare terrorist attacks in different countries including Russia are in the field of vision of the Federal Security Service.

Besides, FSB works thoroughly to detect and cut off main financial channels through which the means for intensive terrorist activities come to Russia.

FSB officers have managed to detect major financial channels providing Chechen terrorists with substantial sums, stressed Mr. Mironov. Money for Chechen terrorists comes through Azerbaijan and other countries. In particular, some foreign religious funds and extremist organizations in the Middle East and in Western Europe allocate means for terrorists. Organized criminal groups in Russia allocate money for Chechen terrorists as well. As a rule, it is their income from illegal trade in weapons and drug trafficking and from the resale of oil produced on Chechen territory, emphasized Lieutenant-General.

Mr. Mironov said that FSB investigation activities recently made it possible to cut off major financial channels of terrorists but Russian security services will continue their work.

According to Mr. Mironov, the starting point for anti-terrorist cooperation between security services of the leading countries was the unprecedented terrorist attacks in the USA on September 11th.

Ivan Mironov said that after September 11th Western secret services had been working hard to establish close cooperation with the Russian Federal Security Service. We expand our cooperation with our colleagues from foreign secret services. Right after the terrorist attacks of September 11th FSB gave their US colleagues the documents on international terrorist organizations.

Russia was the first country to face international terrorism on Chechen territory during the anti-terrorist military operation in the North Caucasus. Mr. Mironov stressed that terrorists were led then by the notorious international terrorists Hattab, Abu-al-Khalid, Abu-Omar and others.

According to him, we can say now for sure that the global anti-terrorist coalition has been successfully formed and now we have to perfect it and finish it off.

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