Russia: St Petersburg Attack Suspect Named

21st Century Wire says…

The individual believed responsible for yesterday’s bombing attack onboard a train in St Petersburg was Kyrgyzstan-born Russian citizen, identified as Akbarzhon Jalilov.

Russian authorities have indicated their awareness of the man, said to be aged between 21 and 22, even though they are currently uncertain of this role involved in yesterday’s bombing. The Kyrgyz intelligence agency is working alongside Russian authorities to further the investigation.

According to Russia’s health ministry, 14 people are now dead and 49 remain in hospital.

More on this report from The Irish Times…

The Irish Times

The man suspected of killing at least 14 people by bombing a St Petersburg train was a Kyrgyzstan-born Russian citizen, according to authorities in the former Soviet republic.

Residents in St Petersburg laid flowers outside the city’s subway where the fatal bomb blast a day earlier also wounded dozens more people.

Kyrgyzstan’s State Committee for National Security said in a statement that one suspect behind the bombing is a Kyrgyz-born Russian national it identified as Akbarzhon Jalilov.

The Kyrgyz intelligence agency said Russian authorities informed them about the man, aged between 21 and 22, but they were not aware of his specific role in the bombing. The intelligence agency said it is co-operating with Russian authorities to help the investigation.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, which came while president Vladimir Putin was visiting the city — Russia’s second biggest and Mr Putin’s hometown.

Residents have been bringing flowers to the stations near where the blast occurred. Every corner at the ornate, Soviet-built Sennaya Ploshchad metro station on Tuesday was covered with red and white carnations.

Russia’s health minister today raised the death toll from 11 to 14 and said 49 people were still in hospital.

The entire subway system in the city of five million was shut down and evacuated before partial service resumed six hours later.

Later on Tuesday morning, emergency officials said they had closed four subway station in St Petersburg following a bomb threat.

The Sennaya Ploshchad metro station was cordoned off, and commuters were told that three more stations had also been closed down.

Typically crowded during the rush hour, the subway on Tuesday morning looked almost deserted as many residents opted for buses.

“First, I was really scared,” said Viktoria Prishchepova who did take the subway. “I didn’t want to go anywhere on the metro because I was nervous. Everyone was calling their loved ones yesterday, checking if they were OK and how everyone was going to get home.”

DEACTIVATED

Authorities have not specified whether the attack was a suicide bombing or whether the bomber got away. The Interfax news agency on Monday said authorities believe the suspect was linked to radical Islamic groups and carried the explosive device onto the train in a backpack.

Within two hours of the blast, authorities had found and deactivated another bomb at another busy station, the anti-terror agency said. That station is a major transfer point for passengers on two lines and serves the railway station to Moscow.

US president Donald Trump has called Russian president Vladimir Putin to offer condolences over the bombing.

The Kremlin said Mr Trump offered sympathy to the families of the victims of Monday’s blast and asked Mr Putin to convey his support for the Russian people.

Mr Putin thanked Mr Trump for the expression of solidarity, the Kremlin said, adding that the two leaders voiced a shared view that “terrorism is an evil that must be fought jointly”.

The United Nations Security Council condemned “in the strongest terms the barbaric and cowardly terrorist attack”.

Council members “expressed their deep sympathy and condolences to the victims of this heinous act of terrorism and to their families, and to the people and to the government of the Russian Federation”, a statement said.

It added that the “perpetrators, organisers, financiers and sponsors of these reprehensible acts” should be brought to justice…

Continue this report at The Irish Times

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