One of the suspected organizers of St. Petersburg Metro bombing detained - FSB (VIDEO) (UPDATE: Older brother also detained)

RT
Mon, 17 Apr 2017 15:22 UTC

One of the suspected organizers of the St. Petersburg Metro bombing on April 3 has been detained in the town of Odintsovo, near Moscow, the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) announced, adding that the man appears to be from Central Asia.

Russia's Federal Security Service has detained a person who could have been involved in the explosion in the St. Petersburg Metro, as part of the criminal investigation launched by the Investigative Committee, the center said in a statement.

"One of the organizers of the investigated case, who is a native of the Central Asian region, Azimov Abror Akhralovich, born in 1990, has been detained in the area of Odintsovo, Moscow Region," the statement says.

Azimov is believed to have trained the perpetrator of the bombing, Akbardzhon Dzhalilov, who left the explosive device in the train and was also killed in the explosion.

It is, however, still being investigated whether Dzhalilov intended to be a suicide bomber or the device was set off remotely.

Azimov is currently being held at a Russian Investigative Committee facility for further inquiry.

After being apprehended, officers discovered a combat pistol on him, the FSB announced, according to RIA Novosti news agency.

Earlier in April, eight people were detained on suspicion of being involved in the St. Petersburg terrorist attack, the Russian Investigative Committee said. Six were arrested in St. Petersburg and two others in Moscow.

Comment: See also:

• Russians detain 8 in connection with St. Petersburg Metro bombing
• Explosive device discovered and disarmed in St. Petersburg apartment building
• St. Petersburg terror attack is nothing new: Putin's decades-long battle against Islamic State (VIDEO)
• St. Petersburg Metro Bombing, Syria Chemical Attack - Trump Folds to the 'Deep State'?
• Mystery deepens as St. Petersburg bomber 'showed no signs of radicalization'
• Six suspected ISIS & Al-Nusra Front recruiters detained after St. Petersburg attack
• Heartening humanity: How St. Petersburg united in face of terrorism
• 'My call could've saved her': Heart-broken husband on wife's tragic death in St. Petersburg blast
• Je ne suis pas St Petersburg: Western bitterness on display as capitals choose not to honor Russian victims of terror attack
• UPDATES: Terror attack in Russia: Two explosions on St Petersburg Metro - 10 people reported dead, 50 injured

Update (April 19): The man detained says he was just following instructions (see: St Petersburg bombing suspect says he was unwitting accomplice). Now, his older brother, Akram Azimov, has also been detained. According to the FSB, he transferred funds for the attack.

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Originally from Kyrgyzstan, Azimov, born in 1988, was arrested in Odintsovo, outside Moscow, according to the media communications office of Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB).

"Akram Azimov abetted the transfer of funds, which were used to prepare the terrorist attack, and helped establish communication channels with emissaries of international terrorist organizations," the agency said in its statement.

A separate statement from Russia's Investigative Committee said that Azimov had an RGD-5 field grenade on him when he was captured, and that he is currently being interviewed "to establish his role in the crime, and any other circumstances relating to it."

Azimov's arrest brings the number of suspects held in connection with the April 3 attack to 10.