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Suspected assassin of Russian chemical defense chief charged with terrorism

Akhmad Kurbanov was also charged on murder and illegal trafficking of weapons and ammunition

MOSCOW, December 19. /TASS/. Uzbek national Akhmad Kurbanov, a suspect in the assassination of Chief of Russia’s Radiation, Chemical and Biological Protection Troops Lieutenant-General Igor Kirillov, has been charged with terrorism, a law enforcement representative told TASS.

Kurbanov was also charged on two other counts: murder and illegal trafficking of weapons and ammunition, the person said.

According to investigators, on the morning of December 17, an explosive device that was planted in an electric scooter went off near the entrance of a residential building on Ryazansky Avenue in Moscow. The blast killed Kirillov, 54, and his aide. The Russian Investigative Committee has classified the explosion as a terrorist attack, and an investigation is underway. The Russian Federal Security Service said it apprehended the perpetrator of the assassination, an Uzbek national. According to the agency, the man was promised $100,000 and residence in an EU country as a reward.

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