Russia Fears Islamic Terror Blowback Over Syria After Sinai
- Russia faces `significant' extremist threat, official says
- Most Caucasus militants allied to Islamic State, analyst says
A Russian airstrike west of Aleppo, Syria in October.
Photographer: Abdulfetah Huseyin/Anadolu Agency via Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
As evidence grows that a bomb may have downed a Russian passenger jet over Egypt, the Kremlin is focused on countering the threat of terrorism at home from sympathizers of Islamic State.
Officials insist they were prepared for the risk of terrorist reprisals after President Vladimir Putin ordered air strikes against militants in Syria. Even if an attack on Russians abroad wasn’t among their most likely scenarios, the loss of 224 lives in the Metrojet crash is underlining the importance of keeping a simmering domestic insurgency under control.