Number of Terrorist Groups' Websites Exceeds 10,000 - FSB Chief

The director of Russia's Federal Security Service said that there are over ten thousand terrorist websites and several hundred thousand social media accounts being used to promote extremism and recruit terrorists.

KRASNODAR (Russia) (Sputnik) – The total number of websites used by terrorist groups for promoting their activities on the internet has surpassed 10,000, Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) Director Alexander Bortnikov said Wednesday.

"Almost all terrorist groups carry out their propaganda activities on the web. By now, the number of their websites has exceeded 10,000," Bortnikov, who also chairs Russia's National Anti-terrorism Committee (NAC), said during the meeting of the heads of security services held in the Russia's southwestern city of Krasnodar.

The Russian official added that terrorists are also active on social media, including in the Russian-language sector of the internet, raising funds and recruiting new militants via private social media groups.

"The number of such accounts on social media has reached several hundred thousand," the FSB director added.

Earlier in the day, an international two-day forum started in Krasnodar. The event focusing on counter-terrorism-related issues gathered a total of 116 delegations from 74 countries and international organizations, such as the United Nations, the European Union and the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (RATS SCO).