Terror acts: Sisters involved
2004-09-03 14:18
Moscow - The suicide bomber who blew herself up in Moscow on Tuesday killing eight people is thought to be the sister of one of the attackers involved in the Russian plane disaster a week earlier, a media report said on Thursday.
The paper, quoting sources at Russia's FSB intelligence service, said that two women suspected of being behind the downing of two passenger jets over Russia on August 24 had been identified as Satsita Jebirkhanova and Amanta Nagayeva, who were friends.
All 90 people aboard both planes were killed when they went down almost simultaneously after onboard explosions.
According to Izvestia Jebirkhanova and Nagayeva had left Grozny with two other young women, Mariam Taburova and Amanta's sister Roza.
Woman still missing
The body of one those who died in the Moscow attack, which took place outside a subway station at rush hour, was especially badly damaged by the blast and was therefore suspected as being the person carrying the bomb.
She was identified as Roza Nagayeva after a check on finger prints taken from the body revealed they matched those found in her apartment in the Chechen capital Grozny, according to daily Izvestia.
An Islamist group calling itself the Islambouli Brigades claimed responsibility for the blast, saying it had carried out the operation in support of Chechen Muslims.
The FSB denied Izvestia's claims, saying that identification of the bodies involved in the Moscow atrocity was ongoing.
Izvestia, quoting border officials, said the four young women had travelled from Grozny to Khasavyurt in Dagestan and on to Azerbaijan's capital Baku before taking a plane to Moscow.
The paper said the whereabouts of Taburova was unknown and that it was possible she was preparing another attack. Quoting FSB sources the paper said eight other young women "have undergone training as suicide bombers and are waiting in a Chechen base in Turkey to depart for Russia."