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FSB detains three more suspects in connection with Moscow terrorist attack

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FSB detains three more suspects in connection with Moscow terrorist attack
A photo alleging to show the Crocus City Hall on fire in Moscow, Russia, on March 22, 2024. The Kyiv Independent could not independently verify the veracity of the claim. (Stringer/AFP/Getty Images)

Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) detained three more suspects in connection with the Moscow terrorist attack at Crocus City Hall, Russian state media reported on April 4.

According to an official statement, two Russian citizens and one individual with a foreign passport were detained in the cities of Moscow, Yekaterinburg, and Omsk. All the suspects are reportedly immigrants from Central Asia.

Several gunmen opened fire at the Crocus City Hall in Krasnogorsk, a Moscow suburb, on the evening of March 22, killing at least 144 people. A branch of the Islamic State (ISIS) claimed responsibility for the attack shortly thereafter.

The FSB alleges that two of the suspects transferred money to purchase firearms and vehicles used in the attack, while the third is suspected of recruiting accomplices.

The Kyiv Independent is unable to verify these claims.

According to state-controlled news outlet RIA Novosti, 10 people were arrested in connection with the terrorist attack, seven of whom are from Tajikistan. An eighth suspect from Kyrgyzstan was brought into court in Russia on March 26.

Four of those detained are Tajik men accused of personally carrying out the attack. They appeared in court showing clear signs of abuse, following videos and pictures that were widely circulated on Russian social media depicting their alleged torture at the hands of Russian authorities.

Earlier this week, a Chechen man reportedly died while in police custody after being arrested in connection with the attack.

Xenophobic incidents were reported en masse after the attack, as were cases of Central Asians leaving Russia over fears of potential reprisals and increased racism.

The FSB said on April 1 that it had arrested four alleged accomplices of the terrorist attack in Dagestan, a southern republic of Russia neighboring Chechnya.

The FSB said that the individuals were supposedly plotting another attack in the Dagestani city of Kaspiysk.

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"The president has tasked us with trying to end this war as quickly as possible. I can confirm that this is indeed his goal — to bring hostilities to an end as soon as possible, preferably before winter," President's Office Head Kyrylo Budanov told the Kyiv Independent.

"The strike locations are situated at the junctions of major railway lines and road networks. In other words, the attacks targeted key logistics hubs where the enemy had been concentrating personnel and resources for further offensive operations," the 413th Regiment of the Unmanned Systems Forces said.

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