LAST UPDATE | 8 Mar

THE DEPARTMENT OF Foreign Affairs has said it is monitoring reports of an “imminent” terror attack on Moscow and has renewed its warning for Irish people not to travel to Russia. 

The Irish warning comes after the US Embassy in Moscow issued a warning to its citizens.

The US Embassy said on its website that it was following reports of an imminent threat.  

“The Embassy is monitoring reports that extremists have imminent plans to target large gatherings in Moscow, to include concerts, and U.S. citizens should be advised to avoid large gatherings over the next 48 hours,” the warning stated. 

The UK Foreign Office and its embassy in Moscow also issued warnings.

A spokesperson for the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs confirmed this morning that a consular team was monitoring the situation.

“We are aware of the reports of an increased threat to large gatherings in Moscow and are monitoring the situation. Our advice to citizens on large gatherings continues to be that Irish citizens in Russia should be vigilant about their own safety and avoid mass gatherings, including protests or demonstrations.

“The Department of Foreign Affairs strongly advises against all travel to the Russian Federation. Irish citizens who are in Russia are advised to carefully consider the necessity of their continued stay in Russia. We strongly recommend all Irish citizens to have plans in place to leave Russia, should their own circumstances deteriorate,” the spokesperson said. 

The Department referred also to its extensive travel advice on its website.

Foreign Affairs has issued warnings for Irish citizens to stay clear of large gatherings in Moscow, particularly protests. That was specifically in regard to the risk of arbitrary detention by Russian security forces.  

It has advised since the start of the Ukraine war against all travel to Russia and has told Irish citizens to have a plan to leave the country.

Yesterday the news agency Reuters reported that the FSB, the Russian internal intelligence agency which in the soviet-era was known as the KGB, had claimed to have halted a terror attack on a synagogue in Moscow.

The FSB had claimed, just a few hours before the US warning, that it had arrested an ISIS cell in the Kaluga region of Russia – the agency claimed that the group were an ISIS faction attached to the Afghan version of Islamic State known as ISIS-Khorasan (ISIS-K).

Reports were that the Russians had shot the militants. 

The Reuters reporting said it was unable to link the warning with the elimination of the ISIS-K team. 

Russia had occupied Afghanistan for several years but withdrew from the country in February 1989.