Two Suspects in the Crocus Attack Received Instructions in Turkey

Two terrorists involved in the attack on the Crocus City Hall likely received instructions while in Turkey, a source informed Izvestia. The other accomplices have been identified and recruited within Russia, the source added.

Individuals were selected for the attack who had not previously been noted for their allegiance to radical Islam, making it more difficult for Russian security services to prevent the attack during its preparation stage, said another source from Izvestia, an expert in counter-terrorism security.

“Preliminary data available to investigators shows that the perpetrators of the Crocus attack met about 3-4 weeks ago and did not leave any evidence of connections with radical Islamist groups in public or on social media prior to that. Most likely, we are dealing with a random collection of perpetrators who are driven by financial needs and have been radicalized by their coordinator,” emphasized the counter-terrorism security expert in a conversation with the media.

It had previously been reported that one of the criminals, Shamsidin Fariduni, arrived in Russia from Turkey on March 4. He disclosed this during his interrogation immediately after his arrest. In February, he had posted photos from Istanbul on social media.

On February 23, the accused made eight posts on social media with photographs. Nearly all the images had their geographical location tagged in Aksaray (a district in Istanbul).

Earlier, the Basmanny District Court of Moscow had placed Fariduni under detention for 1 month and 28 days. He and three other detainees—Dalerjon Mirzoev, Rachabalizod Saidakrami Murodalin, and Muhammadsobir Fayzov—will remain in custody until May 22, 2024.

All four have been charged under Article 205, Section 3(b) of the RF Criminal Code for committing a terrorist act. Mirzoev has fully admitted his guilt. On March 23, security forces arrested 11 individuals, including all four terrorists who opened fire on people at Crocus City Hall. One of the detainees confessed that he had been promised 500,000 rubles for participating in the attack. The latest reports indicate that the attack resulted in 137 casualties, with 62 bodies identified. The number of those affected by the terrorist act has reached 182.