NALCHIK. Dec 16 (Interfax-South) - The situation in Kabardino-Balkaria remains difficult and sporadically exacerbates, head of the Federal Security Service's Department for Kabardino-Balkaria Sergei Ushakov said on Thursday.
"The grave economic position and social problems of a large part of the republican population, the uncontrolled influx of refugees from the anti-terrorist campaign zone and the ongoing activities of followers of unorthodox Islam radicalize the situation," Ushakov said.
He said secret services of the United States, Turkey and Mideastern countries are trying to use humanitarian exchanges, ethnic and foreign economic relations for the collection of diverse intelligence information.
Ushakov said they had had operations to find and detain members of the Yarmuk Jamaat radical group, who were engaged in a series of acts of terrorism and sabotage. He said two members of the group were killed and four were encouraged to surrender.
The department is helping to identify bandits, who attacked an office of the Kabardino-Balkaria Drug Control Agency on December 14. Four staff members of the agency were killed and more than 250 pieces of firearms and plenty of ammunition were stolen in the attack.
Kabardino-Balkaria is a North Caucasian republic of Russia.