MOSCOW, March 25 (Xinhua) -- It was too early to ease anti-terror regulations in Russia after security services foiled 19 terror plots last year, Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev said on Monday.
"As many as 35 terror-related crimes, including 19 terror attack plots, were foiled in Russia last year alone," Patrushev told the Russian newspaper Izvestia in an interview.
Terrorists keep improving their methods, therefore it's too early to talk about scaling down anti-terror efforts, Patrushev said.
Talking about the increasing bomb threat phone calls, Patrushev said so-called phone terrorism is on the rise, noting that about 2,000 fake bomb alerts that sparked evacuations across Russia have been made this year.
Most the bomb threats were traced to foreign countries, said the security chief, adding that around 400 people behind the phone calls and emails have been identified, and some of them have been brought to justice.
