The US Embassy in Moscow issued a security alert on Thursday warning its citizens of potential terror attacks in the Russian capital over the next 48 hours.
In a short statement, the embassy said it was monitoring reports that “extremists” have “imminent plans to target large gatherings” in Moscow in the coming days.
It advised US citizens in Russia to avoid large crowds and to follow social media for updates, noting that concerts in particular might be targeted in potential attacks.
Following the warning, the British Embassy in Moscow tweeted the US Embassy’s message and reiterated its advice for British citizens not to travel to Russia.
The US Embassy did not specify the nature of the reports it was monitoring.
The warning came shortly after Russia’s Federal Security Service reported that it had killed members of the terrorist group Islamic State who it said had been planning to attack a Moscow synagogue. The agency said it had seized “firearms, ammunition and components for creating improvised explosive devices” from the premises it raided in the Kaluga region, southwest of Moscow.
Russian state television propagandist Margarita Simonyan said that the embassies had an obligation to pass any information about potential terror attacks to Russia’s security services, saying a failure to do so would amount to “complicity”.
Friday is a public holiday for International Women’s Day in Russia, with a number of events scheduled in Moscow to mark the occasion.
The Kremlin has not commented on the embassies’ warnings.
