Russia’s Investigative Committee has qualified the attack on a busy St. Petersburg metro as a terrorist attack. IC spokeswoman Svetlana Petrenko confirmed to TASS: “The criminal case was opened under Article 205 of the Criminal Code [Act of Terrorism].”
The explosion took place on an underground train that was travelling between Sennaya Ploshchad and Sadovaya metro stations.
Shocking images were being shared by ISIS on online forums only days ahead of the blast. One showed an ISIS fighter standing in front of the Kremlin, captioned as: “Kill them where you find them”, while another encouraged ISIS supporters to strike Moscow.
Yet another poster portrayed bullet holes in President Vladimir Putin’s head. The Russian president was in his hometown of St Petersburg on Monday, and it is likely that Russian officials are considering that the attack might have been targeted, as Putin was nearby giving a speech at a media forum.
The Kremlin leader wanted to visit the scene in the aftermath of the attack but was held back by security services. He said they would look at “all possible causes, terrorism as well as common crime”.
No one has yet claimed responsibility for the attack in which some 40 people have been injured and 10 killed, including at least three children.
Russian police are focusing on an Islamic suspect filmed by surveillance cameras inside a St. Petersburg metro station right before the bombing, according to some media reports. Russian online news outlet Fontanka published the grainy photo from CCTV footage of a Muslim entering the Petrogradskaya station 20 minutes before the explosion.
Interfax news agency cited an unidentified source who said the suspect might have left the explosive device in a briefcase. The bomb is said to have been packed with shrapnel. A second device, which did not go off, was discovered disguised in a fire extinguisher.
Infowars reported that ISIS supporters were quick to celebrate the attack on social media. On Al Jazeera Arabic’s Facebook positive comments and ecstatic emoticons flooded in.
Arab Al Jazeera viewers, as well as viewers of France 24’s Arabic channel, had a similar response after the Westminster attack in London last month, which was carried out by a black Muslim convert.
No comments.
By submitting a comment you grant Free West Media a perpetual license to reproduce your words and name/web site in attribution. Inappropriate and irrelevant comments will be removed at an admin’s discretion. Your email is used for verification purposes only, it will never be shared.