Russian secret service arrests four more people after terrorist attack in Moscow Turkish election authority: opposition party CHP strongest force

More than a week after the terrorist attack on the Crocus City Hall event center in northwestern Moscow, Russia’s domestic secret service FSB has arrested more people suspected of being involved. Four foreign citizens directly involved in financing and equipping terrorists have been arrested in the Russian republic of Dagestan in the North Caucasus, the FSB announced in Moscow on Monday. The terrorist militia Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the crime.

State media also showed a video released by the FSB in which an unknown man says he handed over the weapons for the Crocus city hall shooting to the perpetrators from the Dagestani capital Makhachkala. The authenticity of the video could not be verified. After the attack on the center on March 22, the number of dead was at least 144 and the number of injured more than 550. People were still missing, it was said.

The four suspected shooters and others involved were arrested after the terrorist attack on Crocus City Hall. Media reported that the men were tortured before their confession. Numerous suspected financiers were also arrested in the Central Asian republic of Tajikistan.

According to the FSB, the four suspects now arrested in Dagestan are said to have planned an attack in the Caspian Sea city of Kaspiysk, popular with tourists. To do this, they prepared an explosive device and also obtained weapons. They then wanted to go abroad. The FSB provided no details in its statement.

Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that the Islamists had carried out the attack on the Crocus City Hall. But he sees a Ukrainian trail. Russian investigators recently announced that financial transaction data had been seized from the arrested suspects. Accordingly, Ukrainian nationalists allegedly paid for the attack. Kiev denies involvement in the terrorist attack.

On Saturday, diplomats from more than 130 countries commemorated the victims in the Crocus town hall and laid flowers in the center. The Russian Foreign Ministry said there were more than 250 participants in the commemorative event. (sda/dpa)