Police officers stand guard on the platform of a metro station in Moscow, capital of Russia, on April 3, 2017. (Xinhua/Oleg Brusnikin)

MOSCOW, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) -- Three natives of Central Asian countries affiliated with the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group were detained on suspicion of preparing terrorist attacks here, Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) said Tuesday in a statement.

"Russia's FSB suppressed activities of the deeply conspiratorial IS international terrorist organization, which planned to conduct terrorist acts, including with the participation of suicide bombers, in Moscow during the New Year holidays and the presidential election," the FSB said.

The identified IS cell was coordinated by the terrorist group's leaders from abroad, it added.

Moreover, the FSB also seized ammunition including improvised explosive devices, assault rifles, cartridges, grenades, precursor chemicals and communications devices, and destroyed a laboratory for manufacturing explosive devices, according to the statement.

A criminal case was opened into the incident on charges of violations of multiple articles in the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, the statement said.