MOSCOW, August 2. /TASS/. Russia’s Investigative Committee has concluded the investigation into the 2017 terrorist attack in the St. Petersburg metro, Committee Spokesperson Svetlana Petrenko told TASS.
"The Russian Investigative Committee’s Main Directorate investigating high-profile crimes has concluded the preliminary investigation of a criminal case concerning the terrorist attack in the St. Petersburg metro, which occurred on April 3, 2017," she said, adding that "a total of 11 members of a terrorist group have been charged." The charges include setting up a terrorist group, participating in its activities, assisting in terrorist activities, carrying out a terrorist act, illegally manufacturing and trafficking firearms, ammunition and explosive devices.
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According to investigators, Sirozhidin Mukhtarov, a native of Kyrgyzstan, set up a terrorist group in Syria no later than 2013, seeking to carry out terrorist activities, particularly against Russia and Russian citizens. "The defendants made three explosive devices for that purpose. A suicide bomber named Akbarzhon Dzhalilov, a native of Kyrgyzstan who had obtained Russian citizenship, carried two of the explosive devices to the St. Petersburg metro’s premises," the Investigative Committee’s spokesperson said. One of the bombs was planted at Ploshchad Vosstaniya station. "He intended to detonate it via remote control but the device’s flaws made it impossible and the bomb was deactivated by law enforcers," Petrenko noted. However, Dzhalilov managed to blow up another bomb he had with him in a metro car.
According to the spokesperson, other members of the group were arrested during a special operation and the third explosive device was seized.
St. Petersburg metro bombing
The blast in a metro car between Tekhnologichesky Institut and Sennaya Ploshchad stations occurred on April 3, 2017. The attack killed 15 people, while 67 were injured. The suicide bomber also died in the explosion.
The Russian Investigative Committee declared the blast a terrorist attack on April 3. In the next few days, more than ten suspects were detained in St. Petersburg and Moscow. According to the law enforcement agencies, these people could have been linked to the Islamic State terror group. One of the terrorist groups affiliated with Al-Qaeda, outlawed in Russia, claimed the responsibility for the attack.