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The embassy, which has repeatedly urged all U.S. citizens to
leave Russia immediately, gave no further details about the
nature of the threat, but said people should avoid concerts and
crowds and be aware of their surroundings.
"The Embassy is monitoring reports that extremists have imminent
plans to target large gatherings in Moscow, to include concerts,
and U.S. citizens should be advised to avoid large gatherings
over the next 48 hours," the embassy said on its website.
It issued its warning several hours after Russia's Federal
Security Service, the main successor to the Soviet-era KGB, said
it had foiled an attack on a synagogue in Moscow by a cell of
the militant Sunni Muslim group Islamic State.
It was unclear if the two statements were linked.
The war in Ukraine has triggered the deepest crisis in Russia's
relations with the West since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. The
Kremlin accuses the U.S. of fighting against Russia by
supporting Ukraine with money, weapons and intelligence.
The FSB said an Islamic State cell was operating in Russia's
Kaluga region as part of the Afghan arm of the group, which is
known as ISIS-Khorasan and seeks a caliphate across Afghanistan,
Pakistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Iran.
The group first appeared in eastern Afghanistan in late 2014 and
established a reputation for extreme brutality.
The cell "was preparing to attack the congregants of a synagogue
using firearms," the FSB said.
When tackled, the militants offered resistance by Russian
special forces and were "neutralised" by return fire, it said.
"Firearms, ammunition, as well as components for the manufacture
of an improvised explosive device were found and seized," the
FSB said.
(Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge; Editing by Toby Chopra and
Timothy Heritage)
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