Federal investigators know the identity of the bomber, a 20-year-old native of the volatile Caucasus region, where insurgents have been battling for years for a breakaway state. But the country’s top investigative body stopped short of naming him, fearing that it would compromise ongoing attempts to identify and arrest the masterminds of the Domodedovo Airport attack on Jan. 24. The blast also wounded 180 people.
“It was no accident that the terrorist act was carried out in the international arrivals hall,” federal investigators said in a statement. “The terrorist act was aimed first and foremost at foreign citizens.”
The victims were mainly Russians, but also included one person each from Britain, Germany, Austria, Ukraine, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan.
The violence stemming from the predominantly Muslim Caucasus region originates from two bloody separatist wars in Chechnya in the past 15 years. Federal forces wiped out the large-scale resistance, driving the insurgency into the mountains and into neighboring provinces. The rebels seek an independent Caucasus emirate that adheres to Shariah.
