KALININGRAD (Sputnik) – Various estimates place the number of Central Asian nationals joining the ranks of Daesh, outlawed in many countries including Russia, between 4,000 and 7,000 people, including from Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan.
"It should be noted that members of extremist terrorist organizations banned in Russia have been detected among labor migrants from Central Asian republics in the Northwestern Federal District in the past three years."
Speaking to reporters in the westernmost Russian exclave of Kaliningrad, Bulavin suggested that Daesh fighters from Uzbekistan, Tajikistan or Kyrgyzstan using the labor migrant route to enter Russia was a realistic scenario.
He noted that no terrorist acts had taken place in Russia over the past two years, but warned that "echoes of this war can occur anywhere" after Russia launched counterterrorism operations in Syria last September.
"I do not advocate indiscriminate suspicion, but we must be in control of and securely manage the processes that take place in this environment," Bulavin argued, stressing the need of preventive measures and close surveillance of migrant workers.
