Putin Thanks Trump, CIA For Helping Prevent Suicide Bombers’ Attack in His Home Town
On December 17th, in the evening, Russian President Putin called the American White House and spoke with President Trump. The reason for the call to Washington was to thank them for the information about an upcoming terrorist attack in St. Petersburg, which was prevented last week. The terrorists planned the attack for the end of last week in the Kazan Cathedral, right on Nevsky Avenue, as well as in other crowded places in the city.
The CIA sent some data on the attackers to Russia, which was enough to pick up the terrorists’ trail and arrest them. According to the President’s press service, Putin asked Trump to convey his gratitude to the CIA director and US intelligence operatives who received such valuable information.
The Russian President also assured his American counterpart that in the event that Russian intelligence services receive information that concerns terrorist threats in the US and its citizens, will promptly pass it on to their US colleagues via partner channels, as it had always been done before.
Salima Zarif will talk about the details from St. Petersburg.
Kazan Cathedral went through December 17th peacefully. The Orthodox Church celebrated Holy Martyr Barbara’s Day that day. She’s considered a defender from sudden and violent death. Those who planned this attack were going to activate the bomb during divine service.
Darya Lebedeva, St. Petersburg Court System PR representative: "The suspect explained to the court that they planned to blow up the Kazan Cathedral on December 17".
The recent police video. A residential area, a typical nine-story building. Operatives run up the stairs and, shouting, get into the apartment where the terrorist suspects are located. One is found in a narrow corridor near the toilet. Two more in the bedroom, near the sofas. Here, they find a Kalashnikov assault rifle with full ammunition. From the safe, built into the cupboard, they pull out TNT blocks. Perhaps, one of these people was going to become a suicide bomber on December 17th.
This handsome young man, by his own confession, was assembling the bomb. His name is Yevgeny Yefimov. He is 18.
Yevgeny Yefimov: Acetone triperoxide is in the hangar.
- What is it?
Yevgeny Yefimov: An explosive substance.
Acetone triperoxide is a very dangerous and a sensitive compound. In slang, it’s called the "mother of Satan." It was this substance that was used in the explosion in Paris in 2015 and in Brussels last year.
Yevgeny Yefimov, detainee: "I was to make an explosive, pack it in bottles and attach some damaging elements".
This is the hangar. It’s sealed now. Here, right under this residential building, very close to the playground, a hundred meters away from a kindergarten, they stored really dangerous explosives.
Yevgeny Yefimov and four other alleged terrorists were arrested. With respect to two, the question of the restraint measure is being settled.
Here are some more details. Today, St. Petersburg's Smolninsky District Court arrested three people. They’re suspected of illegal weapons possession. And there are reports that the arrested are connected with those who plotted the terrorist attack in the Kazan Cathedral.
Dagestani Shamil Omar Hajiyev, Alishkhan Esmurziyev from Ingushetia, and Firuz Kalavurov from Tajikistan were imprisoned.
Earlier, as we saw, Yevgeny Yefimov was arrested in the same case. He confessed that he made the explosives for the terrorist attack in the Kazan Cathedral. And, his assistant, Anton Kobets.
Earlier, the FSB Center for Public Relations reported that seven members of a terrorist cell were detained in St. Petersburg.
Salima Zarif, Vesti — News of the Week