Suspect in St Petersburg Blast is Russian Citizen
Suspect in St Petersburg Blast is Russian Citizen
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ST PETERSBURG - The intelligence agency in the former Soviet republic of Kyrgyzstan says the man behind Monday’s deadly bombing on the St Petersburg subway is a Kyrgyz-born Russian citizen.
A bomb blast tore through a subway train under Russia’s second-largest city on Monday, killing 14 people and wounding more than 40. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, which came while President Vladimir Putin was visiting the city, his hometown.
“The suicide bomber in the Saint Petersburg metro was a Kyrgyz national, Akbarjon Djalilov, born in 1995,” a spokesman for the country’s security services said.
Kyrgyzstan, a predominantly Muslim Central Asian nation of six million, is Russia’s close political ally and hosts a Russian military airbase.
Russian authorities announced a search for two people believed to have been involved in the bombing, according to Interfax news agency.
One suspect is believed to have placed a bomb under a seat on the train, which exploded while it was travelling between stations, while the other allegedly planted a bomb that was later disarmed at a nearby station. Why suspicion over St Petersburg subway bombing is falling on Islamist groups
![Suspect in St Petersburg Blast is Russian Citizen]()
The Russian Investigative Committee has qualified the blast as a terrorist attack, TASS reported, but other theories are being looked at by authorities.
“Signs of a terrorist attack are obvious but there are certain investigation procedures,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
Russia earlier said that one of the two suspects is believed to be a 23-year-old man from Central Asia with Islamist ties. Interfax also reported a theory being investigated “in which the bomb was worn by a suicide attacker.”
Footage from the scene showed shattered windows and train doors that had been ripped open by the blast. Security camera footage showed a suspect with a long beard and dark clothing. Security was increased at transport hubs across the country in the wake of the attack.
All underground stations in St Petersburg were closed in the immediate aftermath of the blasts, although the network was partially reopened later. About 3 million people use the city’s underground stations every day.
Putin had been visiting St Petersburg for talks with Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko when the blast occurred. He offered his condolences to the victims’ families, and convened a meeting with senior law enforcement officials to discuss the attack, state media reported. Putin later went to the scene of the blast to lay flowers in memory of those killed. Condolences also arrived from leaders abroad.
US President Donald Trump phoned Putin to condemn the attack and to offer help in finding the perpetrators. Trump “expressed his deepest condolences to the victims and their loved ones, and to the Russian people,” according to a White House statement following the conversation. Trump also offered the “full support of the United States government in responding to the attack and bringing those responsible to justice.”
The blast raised security fears beyond Russian frontiers. France, which has itself suffered a series of attacks, announced additional security measures in Paris.
A bomb blast tore through a subway train under Russia’s second-largest city on Monday, killing 14 people and wounding more than 40. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, which came while President Vladimir Putin was visiting the city, his hometown.
“The suicide bomber in the Saint Petersburg metro was a Kyrgyz national, Akbarjon Djalilov, born in 1995,” a spokesman for the country’s security services said.
Kyrgyzstan, a predominantly Muslim Central Asian nation of six million, is Russia’s close political ally and hosts a Russian military airbase.
Russian authorities announced a search for two people believed to have been involved in the bombing, according to Interfax news agency.
One suspect is believed to have placed a bomb under a seat on the train, which exploded while it was travelling between stations, while the other allegedly planted a bomb that was later disarmed at a nearby station. Why suspicion over St Petersburg subway bombing is falling on Islamist groups
The Russian Investigative Committee has qualified the blast as a terrorist attack, TASS reported, but other theories are being looked at by authorities.
“Signs of a terrorist attack are obvious but there are certain investigation procedures,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
Russia earlier said that one of the two suspects is believed to be a 23-year-old man from Central Asia with Islamist ties. Interfax also reported a theory being investigated “in which the bomb was worn by a suicide attacker.”
Footage from the scene showed shattered windows and train doors that had been ripped open by the blast. Security camera footage showed a suspect with a long beard and dark clothing. Security was increased at transport hubs across the country in the wake of the attack.
All underground stations in St Petersburg were closed in the immediate aftermath of the blasts, although the network was partially reopened later. About 3 million people use the city’s underground stations every day.
Putin had been visiting St Petersburg for talks with Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko when the blast occurred. He offered his condolences to the victims’ families, and convened a meeting with senior law enforcement officials to discuss the attack, state media reported. Putin later went to the scene of the blast to lay flowers in memory of those killed. Condolences also arrived from leaders abroad.
US President Donald Trump phoned Putin to condemn the attack and to offer help in finding the perpetrators. Trump “expressed his deepest condolences to the victims and their loved ones, and to the Russian people,” according to a White House statement following the conversation. Trump also offered the “full support of the United States government in responding to the attack and bringing those responsible to justice.”
The blast raised security fears beyond Russian frontiers. France, which has itself suffered a series of attacks, announced additional security measures in Paris.
(rnz)
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