MOSCOW, Oct 1 (AFP) - Russian authorities have arrested 11 members of the outlawed Hizbi Tahrir radical Islamist group in possession of grenades, the ITAR-TASS news agency reported on Friday quoting the FSB secret services.
The suspected militants were arrested in the city of Nizhny-Novgorod, 400 kilometres (240 miles) east of Moscow, in a joint operation between police and the secret services, the report said.
All men, aged above 25, worked as traders in several markets in the city. They included several foreign nationals who all held valid residency papers, the report added.
The suspects were found in possession of "combat grenades, audio and video material as well as handwritten and printed pamphlets," according to regional FSB officials quoted in the report.
An investigation has been opened into "terrorist activities".
The Hizbi Tahrir, a Sunnite movement founded in the Middle East in the 1950s, established itself in the former Soviet republics of Central Asia 10 years ago and reportedly wants to create an Islamic state in the region.
Russia's Supreme Court classified the group as a "terrorist" organisation in February 2003. Ten militants from the group were arrested in June in the towns of Tyumen and Tobolsk in Siberia.
Hizbi Tahrir, or the Party of Islamic Liberation, counts thousands of supporters in Russia, as well as in Uzbekistan, and neighbouring Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan where it is also outlawed.
Uzbekistan accused the group of trying to overthrow the regime. Rights groups say more than 4,000 Hizbi Tahrir members are in Uzbek prisons serving sentences of up to 20 years.
Rights groups have repeatedly accused Russian authorities of persecuting members of the group under the guise of fighting terrorism.