A gathering in memory of the victims of the deadly St. Petersburg metro explosion will take place in the city on Thursday.
In other news, Russia has had it's hands full in dealing with other explosions and weeding out extremists.
Memorial Gathering to Take Place at St. Petersburg Metro Station on Thursday
https://sputniknews.com/russia/201704061052340599-petersburg-memorial-gathering/
A gathering in memory of the victims of the deadly St. Petersburg metro explosion will take place in the city on Thursday, St. Petersburg Governor Georgy Poltavchenko announced.
"I invite all the people who are not indifferent, who were deeply affected by the tragedy that has occurred, to come to the Tekhnologichesky Institut metro station at 18:00 [15:00 GMT] on April 6," Poltavchenko said.
A memorial action will also take place in the Russian capital, Moscow, on Thursday afternoon in Manezhnaya Square.
Nine Facts About St. Pete Suicide Bomber
https://sputniknews.com/russia/201704061052366633-metro-bomber-facts/
He was 22, a native of the Central Asian republic of Kyrgyzstan. So far, this is all we know of Akbarzhon Dzhalilov, who reportedly blew himself up, along with 14 other people, in the St. Petersburg metro Monday. Sputnik took a closer look at the region the suspected terrorist came from.
The suspect - Fact 1: Even though a native of Kyrgyzstan, Dzhalilov carried a Russian passport.
In 2011 his family moved to Russia where his father and elder brother received Russian citizenship. After he came of age, Akbarzhon was also issued a Russian passport.
Fact 2: He comes from an ordinary family. His father still lives in Russia and his mother recently returned to Osh, Kyrgyzstan, along with her two sons. Neighbors describe them as quiet and inconspicuous people without any strong religious affiliations.
On Tuesday, investigators in Osh questioned Dzhalilov’s mother and his other relatives.
Fact 3: In Kyrgyzstan Akbarzhon Dzhalilov is officially considered a suspect with investigators unable to either prove or disprove his guilt. They insist that this is up to their Russian colleagues to determine.
City of Osh - Fact 4: Osh is a 3,000-year-old city in Kyrgyzstan’s southern Fergana Valley. The second largest city after Bishkek, Osh is the country’s unofficial “southern capital.” The residents are mostly conservative and very religious.
Fact 5: Osh is the main city of a “problem” region of the same name. Having no clear-cut border with neighboring Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, the region is the focus of regular conflicts.
The situation came to a head in 2010, when violent clashes between ethnic Kyrgyz and Uzbeks reportedly left 418 people dead.
Fact 6: Osh is located just a few hundred kilometers from the Afghan border, but experts believe that Afghanistan poses no real threat to Kyrgyzstan.
Fact 7: Osh is considered to be more vulnerable to recruiting attempts made by terrorist organizations than the country’s more religious northern regions.
Radical Islam - Fact 8: Radical Islam is not widespread in this small central Asian republic. Experts believe that even though various international religious groups are active in Kyrgyzstan, there still no visible signs of any radicalization among the local population.
According to official data, 500 people have so far left the country to join jihadist militants in Syria. 30 have been killed there and about 40 have returned home.
Fact 9: Islamic groups are partly spreading Radical Islamic ideas, but they have been gaining maximum traction in Central Asia. A number of suspected members of Hizb ut-Tahrir were arrested in Kyrgyzstan in January.
Hizb ut-Tahrir is an international, pan-Islamic political organization, which aims to re-establish the Islamic Caliphate and introduce Sharia law. Its members are recruiting fighters for Daesh.
Hizb ut-Tahrir is outlawed in many countries, including Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Germany.
On April 3, an explosion hit the center of St. Petersburg on the rail between two metro stations, killing at least 14 people and injuring about 50 more.
On April 5, the Russian Investigative Committee named Kyrgyzstan-born 22-year-old Akbarzhon Dzhalilov, a Russian citizen, as the suicide bomber behind the attack.
The investigation also found out that the same man had left a bag with an explosive device at another subway station. It was defused by mine-disposal experts.
The Russian city of Rostov-on-Don was hit by an explosion, local media reports citing sources in the regional law enforcement services.
Russian City of Rostov-on-Don Reportedly Hit by Explosion: One Injured
https://sputniknews.com/russia/201704061052344711-rostov-blast-injured/
The blast took place in the center of Rostov-on-Don, one person is reportedly injured.
According to the information from the source, a man picked up a suspicious object on the road and it detonated.
"A man picked up a suspicious object on the road, which detonated, the blast tore off his fingers, and he was also got an abdominal wound. The man is hospitalized," the source said.
Another source said that that the accident took place not far from one of the city's schools, its territory is cordoned off, special services are operating on the spot.
"The incident occurred around 07:00 Moscow time not far from the Socialistskaya street. According to preliminary data, one person is injured — a man whose fingers were shot off," a source said.
The source explained that
the wounded person is a school janitor and the accident took place while he was cleaning the territory around the school. The detonated object was an improvised explosive device disguised as a flashlight.
He specified that the school was suspended, children are not allowed into the building.
Earlier in the week an explosion occurred in St. Petersburg in a subway train car on the stretch between the Sennaya Ploshchad and Tekhnologichesky Institut metro stations. Another blast that was supposed to take place on Ploshchad Vosstaniya station was prevented by bomb technicians.
The Monday explosion claimed the lives of at least 14 people, 55 others remain in hospitals.
An interior ministry source reported that three servicemen of the Russian National Guard were shot at from a moving vehicle during a search for those responsible for the killing of two police officers in the southern city of Astrakhan.
Russian National Guard Members Injured During Search for Astrakhan Attackers
https://sputniknews.com/russia/201704061052342130-russia-national-guard-shot/
Three servicemen of the Russian National Guard were shot at from a moving vehicle during a search for those responsible for the killing of two police officers in the southern city of Astrakhan, a local interior ministry source told Sputnik.
"According to preliminary information, there were three attackers, they opened fire from a car, one of the attackers was killed," the source said, adding that the attackers could be the ones who killed police officers on Tuesday.
Later, a representative of the regional Investigative Committee confirmed to Sputnik that the killed attacker was one of the men wanted for the killing of two police officers in Astrakhan.
"As a result of the armed confrontation, three law enforcement members were injured, one of the attackers was eliminated by return fire. During the shootout, other attackers managed to escape, they also seized the weapons of the law enforcement members. The eliminated attacker has been identified as one of those wanted in the criminal case, according to preliminary information," the representative said.
A regional law enforcement source told Sputnik that another man wanted in the case was injured during the shootout with the National Guard.
According to the source, one of the four administrative districts of Astrakhan was cordoned off after the shootout and police have found the car used by the attackers.
On Wednesday, the Russian Investigative Committee announced the names of four men wanted for the killing of two police officers in Astrakhan. On Tuesday, Astrakhan's local authorities said a group of radical Islamists attacked and killed police officers overnight before fleeing the scene. The group numbered eight assailants, with two already detained in Astrakhan.
Four suspects in the killing of two police officers in Russia’s southern city of Astrakhan have been eliminated, a regional representative of the Russian National Guard told Sputnik.
4 Suspects in Killing of Police Officers in Russia's Astrakhan Eliminated
https://sputniknews.com/russia/201704061052343973-astrakhan-russia-police-killers-eliminated/
On Wednesday, the Russian Investigative Committee said that four men were wanted for the Tuesday killing of two police officers in Astrakhan. The group of radical Islamists responsible for the killing numbered eight assailants, but two of them had already been detained.
One of the suspects in the murder of policemen in Astrakhan was eliminated during an attack on a National Guard post, another died after an injury to his back, two others were located and eliminated. All of them were wanted in the case of the murder of police officers. There have been no casualties among National Guard servicemen," a National Guard representative told Sputnik on Thursday morning.
A local interior ministry source told Sputnik in the early hours of Thursday that three servicemen of the Russian National Guard were shot at from a moving vehicle during a search for those responsible for the killing of two police officers in Astrakhan. One of the attackers was killed in return fire.
Six Central Asian citizens have been detained in St. Petersburg on suspicion of facilitating terrorist activities and recruiting their compatriots into terrorist groups, the Russian Investigative Committee said Wednesday.
Six Asians Detained in St. Petersburg on Suspicion of Terrorist Recruitment (Video)
https://sputniknews.com/russia/201704051052308064-petersburg-terrorist-recruitment/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVPpgY5I2T4 (1:12 min.)
The arrests were carried out jointly with officers of regional FSB and Ministry of Internal Affairs directorates, as well as special National Guard subdivisions.
"On April 5, 2017, as a result of investigative actions and measures, investigators… detained six citizens from Central Asian republics who arrived in Russia for work," the committee said.
The unidentified detainees are suspected of recruiting, starting in November 2015, mostly immigrants from Central Asia to commit terrorist crimes and involve them in the activities of Daesh and the Jabhat Fateh al-Sham (formerly known as al-Nusra Front) terrorist groups (both banned in numerous countries).
