Original subtitles

Кантер терроризм-форсиз, в ручной флешбой в Норт-Кокосе.

The Elite Soldiers of the Russian National Guard during training.

It consists of over a hundred special task forces.

Many are comparable to German counter-terrorism units like the GSG-9.

Extremely well-trained, and equipped with the latest weapons.

Я обзываю группы террористов.

Они проживаются на пункт.

They fight mainly against terrorists in the Russian Caucasus Republics,

and are frequently deployed in Dagestan and Chechnya.

Their adversaries are radical Islamists and

common criminals, who use Islamism as a pretext.

We have a lot of sleeper cells here who become active on command.

They harm the populace with their terror attacks.

Our job is to prevent them.

The goal of the Russian National Guard tracked down

extremists and eliminate them before they can strike.

Chechnya, the predominantly Muslim Russian Republic was

almost completely destroyed in two wars between 1994 and 2003.

At the time, Islamic separatists wanted independence from the Russian Federation.

Following the wars, the Russian government rebuilt much of the country.

But there are still countless terrorists there.

They mostly live in hiding and operate in small groups.

Special forces carry out a simulated counter-terrorism raid.

They call their unit Skif in English the Sith.

These pre-Christian nomadic warriors are said

to have once inhabited the North Caucasus.

Many Russian houses are protected by steel doors.

Is the door locked?

It's bolted.

Explosives solve the problem.

The two frontmen carry bulletproof shields.

The operation in the building is meticulously choreographed.

On a real mission, one wrong move could prove fatal.

For security reasons, the elite fighters are not allowed to show their faces.

It gets especially dangerous when the criminals already have blood on their hands.

Then they generally put up fierce resistance.

This footage was filmed by Caucasian terrorists.

It shows an attack on a police station.

It was probably intended to serve as evidence for potential financial backers.

The Russian National Guard suspects that the men have

good connections to Arabic countries and Pakistan.

This decoy fires at a police station.

The policemen take the bait and chase after him.

Other extremists are waiting on a hill until

the policemen are in range and then open fire.

They cry, God is great.

The

extremists hope that cowardly ambush will put pressure on the government.

We want to drive the Russian occupiers out of

the North Caucasus and establish a theocracy.

We'll kill all the corrupt policemen who work for the

Russians, torture Muslims and attack our families.

They use video messages to propagandize their goal.

A caliphate, independence for the resource-rich

Russian republics of Dagestan and Chechnya.

These men are no longer alive.

Special forces teams have eradicated them.

But other extremists have taken their place.

Many have joined the terrorist militia, Islamic State.

They disseminate their hate-filled threats to the populace via the internet.

Enough.

What do you mean you don't want to pay to supporters?

I'm warning you, we'll confiscate half of your property

and anyone who still refuses to pay will be killed.

I swear, we'll kill you.

You have to support our cause without protest.

We'll kill all of them.

During the summer months, many extremists withdraw into the mountains.

They seek the protection of the dense forests.

But the elite fighters of the counter-terrorism unit skiff hunt them there, too.

Civilians, informers, police, secret services.

They all provide the Russian National Guard with information about the insurgents.

If several sources are in agreement, the guard

ways up the chances of a successful pursuit.

Today, the skiff will come of forest area in

the border region of Chechnya and Dagestan.

It's challenging terrain.

I prefer the Vilti submachine gun for missions at this time of year.

It's well suited for close combat.

In the summer, engagements normally occur in the mountain

forests, so a close range is from two to 20 meters.

You can't really see any further than that.

The Viltis can deal with pretty much anything.

It fires a nine by 19 caliber round.

The projectiles can pierce a standard bulletproof vest.

The head of the counter-terrorism unit is almost 40 years old.

A man with war experience.

He doesn't underestimate his adversary.

The terrorist gangs are often highly professional.

They start stocking their hideouts with supplies in spring

and then relocate their activities to the forests in summer.

The underbrush gives them cover.

The skiff have managed to put a stop to the

activities of many gangs over the past few years.

As a result, the extremists have become more cautious.

They've changed their tactics.

In the past, they immediately started shooting when we got close to them.

Now they try to remain undetected and avoid a

direct confrontation for as long as possible.

The special task forces of the Russian National Guard are

increasingly driving the radical Islamists into a corner.

Not least, thanks to detailed intelligence from the state security services.

We look very closely at what our opponents do, how they communicate, how they live.

We've now got them to a point where no one wants to be the leader because that

significantly reduces one's life expectancy.

One of the challenges of missions like this is remaining focused.

The skiff coms the section of forest for hours.

Nothing but green underbrush.

Booby traps or terrorists waiting in ambush could be anywhere.

Here, a wrapper.

Then the men find more traces.

This used to be a terrorist camp.

They didn't stay here long though.

They just quickly tied together a few branches

so they wouldn't be discovered right away.

At a sleeping mat and you've got a place to sleep.

They ate here and left the garbage there.

It was just a quick stopover for them.

It's a moment for them to stay here.

The skiff withdraw from the underbrush.

They want to open fire on the target area with heavier weapons.

They manage to pinpoint the location of the Islamists.

Now the elite soldiers strafe the area square meter for square meter.

The extremists have dug themselves into this ridge.

Simply storming it would be too dangerous.

Some of the special forcesmen could be killed in the attempt.

A few hours later, the firefight is over.

Three terrorists died in the hail of bullets.

Now the criminal investigation begins.

Which group did they belong to?

Who are their relatives and friends?

The search for clues about possible accomplices.

Meanwhile, the skiff head back to Grozny.

The special forces are stationed in the capital of Chechnya.

At first sight, nothing here hints at the presence

of terrorist cells or an impeding terrorist attack.

But the peace is deceptive.

Nobody knows that better than the four-star general Sergei Melikov.

He belongs to the senior leadership of the Russian National Guard.

Around 400,000 men and women work for the authority,

which is responsible for internal security in Russia.

An exclusive interview with the general.

Terrorist organizations are always coming up with new tactics.

In order to be unpredictable for us, they avoid clear hierarchical structures.

The autonomous underground cells plan their own operations.

And these attacks often get a lot of publicity,

as they mostly target the civilian populations.

Things like bombing attacks on crowds of people.

St. Petersburg, April 2017.

An autonomous cell with close ties to Al-Qaeda

carries out a bombing attack in a subway.

A suicide bomber kills at least 15 people.

By committing such bloody acts, the terror cells seek to draw attention to themselves.

Often, in hope of being put on the payroll of the major terrorist organizations.

In this case, their plan doesn't work out.

The radical Islamic cell is completely eradicated.

Many of these crimes are also financially motivated, which is why we have to work

harder to improve the living conditions of young people, so that they don't become

receptive to the criminal ideology of the terrorists in the first place.

Jobs, social security, the fight against injustice

and corruption are all important factors here.

The government has already made some progress in these areas.

Sergey Melikov's family have themselves been the victim of Caucasian extremists.

His son, Dmitry, a captain of the Special Task

Force, Vetus, is buried in this Moscow graveyard.

This loss was a huge blow for us.

We're proud of Dmitry.

Dmitry was shot by terrorists in the mountain

forests of Dagestan, at the age of just 25.

I haven't just lost my son, but other people close to him.

But they were all aware of what they were getting

themselves into, and how risky the fight against Tara is.

And they also knew that there's no other way to deal with these gangs.

They gave their lives in order to save children, women and families.

The Russian Republic of Dagestan, on the Caspian Sea, like Chechnya,

is primarily Muslim.

And Dagestan is likewise an Islamist stronghold.

Terrorists have an easy time recruiting throughout the entire North Caucasus,

unemployment, administrative arbitrariness, and corruption are widespread here.

They drive a steady stream of new followers into the arms of radical gangs,

according to civil rights campaigner Abdurraham Magomedov.

Education is therefore extremely important.

Young people are often searching for a purpose in life.

They can be easily influenced by whoever is close to them at the time.

If young people fall into the clutches of

radical groups, they're usually lost forever.

It's like a one-way street.

Anyone who gets involved in terrorism rarely gets

out alive, wanted lists of the Russian authorities.

The so-called recruits of Islamic State took this murder video in Dagestan.

It shows how they ambush an officer of the Russian

National Guard and is relative while camping.

The IS followers shoot the officer's cousin immediately.

Then they pressure second lieutenant Magomed Novogandov to look into the camera

and tell his comrades that they should end the fight against the IS.

Is that you?

Tell your people they should leave us in peace.

The officer refuses.

Keep working brothers, he says instead.

This message to his comrades is his death sentence.

The mountain village of Sergokala, home of the murdered officer.

For his bravery, Novogandov was posthumously proclaimed a hero.

His parents now take care of his two children.

They show off the prestigious decoration with pride.

They have their own theory about the death of their son.

The Western nations don't want us in Russia to live a good peaceful life.

So that our children can make something of themselves.

That's why they send these terrible people to us.

They stir up hatred from all sides, until we attack each other here.

But they won't succeed in defeating us.

A crash allegation.

Russian investigators managed to capture two of Novogandov's killers.

We told him to say that the fight against us must stop.

But instead, he said, keep working brothers.

I filmed it.

Then we shot Magomed Novogandov in the head.

This video was produced by friends of Novogandov.

In it, they commemorate their fallen comrades.

The message... We won't forget.

What follows is an unprecedented hunt for

the remaining members of the extremist group.

Special forces of the Russian National Guard and Federal Security Service,

FSP, eventually tracked them down to the Dagestani city of Kassafjurt.

They waste no time.

These images were taken by the Federal Security Service, FSP.

The elite soldiers want to set an example and make short work of the men.

Three of the Islamists are killed during the operation.

The cell recruits of the IS is eradicated.

The city of Kassafjurt and the surrounding

countryside is considered an extremist stronghold.

Another special task force of the Russian

National Guard carries out a raid in this area.

The men of the sober Bulat are looking for IS followers.

Sober stands for rapid response unit.

Bulat for steel.

The elite Moscow police officers have been

assigned to the North Caucasus for three months.

They suspect that an IS recruiter is staying at this farm.

The risk of being ambushed is high.

Left clear.

Two doors in front of us.

I have them in sight.

There's a woman in the room.

Come out.

Come out quickly.

Stay right there.

It's the wife of the suspected terrorist.

The special forces discover two children in the room as well.

They tell the woman to take them to safety.

Addicts and roofs are often used as hiding places.

The criminals either barricade themselves in.

Or store weapons and explosives there.

We always look for possible hiding places.

Double walls.

Raised floors hidden under carpets.

Sometimes the extremists even dig tunnels.

15 to 20 meters long.

When under threat, they disappear across the backyard.

In this area or this canal.

You'll see.

Now it's the addict's turn.

On raids against suspected terrorists like this, the men can't

afford to worry about damaging the furnishings and fittings.

They could come under attack at any moment.

The suspected IS recruiter isn't at home.

The officers presume that he's long since fled and headed to the Middle East.

Otherwise, it's unlikely that the family would have reacted so calmly.

If it all possible, we warn the neighbors in advance.

We ask women and children to leave critical rooms.

The mission is over for today.

Time to head back to base.

The men of the counter-terrorism unit, Soberbulat, are housed in this temporary camp.

Stationed here with them are other Russian National Guard special task forces.

They all come from very different backgrounds, but

the living conditions are the same for everyone here.

We heat with wood.

If we run out, we get more from outside and dry up beside the stove.

Here we drink tea or eat.

Over there are several rows of beds.

We hang up our clothes here, and store our weapons

ammunition and special equipment back there.

Doesn't it get damp in here?

No.

We heat the place so it doesn't get damp, that keeps the air dry.

What do you do in your spare time?

We check our equipment, clean our weapons, exercise, jog.

Everyone does their own thing.

Geary.

Everything is delicious.

This is our shower.

Cold, it's a toughen you up.

You can wash with warm water here.

You have to heat it up on the stove beforehand, though.

It's amazing how much water you use at home,

and what it costs at the end of the month.

Here you only need half a bucket full to wash up.

Back there is the fuel, and on the other side is our workout corner.

But here you can only exercise when the weather is dry.

No, why?

You can do it fine.

We have a stronghold of Kassafjort once more.

Police investigators have requested the support of Sobor Bulat, another operation

against the Islamic State Terrorist militia.

Today we are conducting a raid on a home.

Apparently an IS fighter is staying there.

The enemy, who is fighting on the side of the island.

The important thing isn't so much the model,

but rather the caliber and stopping power.

The best are 9.19 and 9.21 caliber.

The elite fighters are highly focused.

They've rehearsed everything hundreds of times and

already carried out dozens of similar missions.

The squad leader has a sketch of the building they're going to storm today.

The first assault squad goes to the gate.

The second team comes from the side over the unfinished wall.

The men at the gate will make a lot of noise

in order to intimidate the people in the house.

The operation begins.

This is our camera, wireless.

Telescopic, extendable.

With this we can check sellers, atix and look around corners.

4.30 in the morning.

The special forces stop approximately 500 meters

before the house of the suspected IS follower.

The man is said to be a recruiter for the terrorist militia.

The house to be raided is situated on the right hand side at the end of the road.

The transporter with MG turret provides cover for the two assault teams.

One team creeps onto the property over the unfinished

wall while the other makes a noise at the front gate.

Intimidation tactics.

I'll cover you.

Time to go.

Police, open up.

Team 1 tries to open the gate, which is locked from the inside, 14-2.

A woman appears at the front door.

Behind her is a man, the suspected IS recruiter.

The tone becomes harsher.

There's a man standing behind her.

The police officers alert their colleagues.

Come out with your hands up.

Come out, hands up, I said.

Hands up, come out.

Come out.

Hands up and face the wall.

Face the wall.

By radio, the squad leader gives the command to storm the house.

On your knees.

The mother of the suspected terrorist tries to stop them from entering.

The special forcesmen don't need to resort to physical violence.

Their intimidation tactics have the desired effect.

You stay down, we're going in.

My mother is a weak heart.

What do you want from us?

The suspect's mother is in a panic.

His wife, Fates.

Turn the light on, turn the light on.

Tell them they should turn the light on.

The elite police officers search the house room for room.

Just turn the light on.

Pull the curtain back.

Head up.

Children, stop.

A bit to the right.

Now straight ahead.

They first make sure that nobody is hiding with the child.

Come on, don't be afraid.

Come on, come on.

Come to me.

Take the child.

What an earth has happened.

The mother of the suspected terrorist knows that her son could be in serious trouble.

Right, clear.

Now the cupboard.

Done?

Yeah, all clear.

You can't go in there.

You want to frame us?

The woman repeats her fear several times.

She suspects the officers of secretly hiding drugs

or ammunition in order to frame her son for a crime.

He didn't commit.

This way, they will have something on him, even if the evidence is otherwise weak.

Although reeling from the shock, everyone is physically unharmed.

The special forces deny the woman's allegations.

They aren't manipulating anything they say.

This man recruits fighters for the terrorist militia IS, which is banned in Russia.

Do you know why the police are here?

No.

Don't you have any idea what you're being accused of?

No.

I don't know.

Do you have a criminal record?

No.

Do you have any involvement with terrorists?

No, I have nothing to do with them.

What about the IS?

No.

Cellars clear.

We check the cellar with the camera through the door and windows.

Everything okay so far?

We'll keep looking.

Open it.

Let's take a look inside.

Let's check behind it.

The entrance is on the left.

Okay, we're coming back.

What's the situation?

Everything's going according to plan.

We've arrested the terrorism suspect and searched everything.

Cellar and attic are clear.

The elite police officers now take a closer look at the attic.

They're primarily looking for weapons and ammunition.

Before the men climb up, they first check the area again with the camera.

An ambush is possible at any time.

As soon as the special forces have everything

under control, the doctors can get to work.

The mother of the suspected IS follower needs cardiovascular medication.

Do you have problems with your blood pressure?

I always have low blood pressure.

Drink this, it will help.

The suspected terrorist sticks to his story.

He has no connection with the so-called Islamic

State or any other extremist organizations.

He wasn't expecting us, which is why he was completely

taken by surprise and didn't know how he should react.

He was basically under shock and didn't have a chance to put up any resistance.

There were no weapons in the house, just his family, mother, wife and child.

Special Task Force, sober Bulat's operation in Kassafyurt, is over.

Investigators now take custody of the suspect.

They will try to get him to talk.

Most extremists are thoroughly briefed by their leaders.

They protest their innocence.

But under interrogation, when in custody or

during the court hearing, many do eventually talk.

There can be many reasons for this.

But deal with the public prosecutor, the prospect of a lesser penalty,

or simply fear.

Sometimes, we place an informant in the cell,

he gains their trust, and then sounds them out.

The counter-terrorism units of the Russian National

Guard are having to be deployed more and more frequently.

They expect an influx of IS fighters returning from the Middle East.

The terrorists try to sneak back into the North Caucasus through

the thick mountain forests of the country's bordering Russia.

Then it's down to the Russian National Guard to stop them.