Chechen man carrying explosives detained on Syrian border: Turkish military

ANKARA - Reuters

REUTERS photo

Security forces have detained 18 people attempting to illegally cross to Turkey from its Syrian border, including a Chechen man suspected of planning an attack, the military said on on April 4.

Security forces found 1.5 kg (3.3 pounds) of explosives and two grenades in the Chechen man's bag, a military statement said. 

The group was made up of nine other men, four women and four children.

Russia has been on alert against Russian-speaking rebels returning from Syria, where they have fought alongside Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), and is wary of any attempts to resume attacks that dogged the country several years ago.

On April 4, a blast in a St. Petersburg train carriage killed 11 people and wounded 45. It was carried out by a suspected suicide bomber with ties to radical Islamists, Russia's Interfax news agency said.

Kyrgyzstan's security service said on April 4 the likely suspect in the blast was a Kyrgyz-born Russian citizen.  
 
Kyrgyzstan, a predominantly Muslim Central Asian nation, is Russia's close political ally and hosts a Russian military airbase.c