FSB Announces Arrests of Terrorist Attack Organizers

The Federal Security Service of Russia has managed to catch the organizers of the explosions near the Moscow metro stations "Avtozavodskaya" and "Rizhskaya", in electric trains in Minvody, and at public transport stops in Voronezh and Krasnodar. This statement was made on Thursday by FSB head Nikolai Patrushev during a speech in the State Duma. The detainees are giving confessions.

Nikolai Patrushev stated during the "government hour" in the State Duma: "Khubiev, Panarin, and Shalaev, who are among the organizers and perpetrators of terrorist acts, have been arrested." According to him, the involvement of the arrested individuals in nine terrorist attacks has already been proven.

The head of the FSB reported to the deputies, according to the newspaper "Vremya Novostey": "A clandestine terrorist group was formed at the initiative of and financed by emissaries of international terrorist centers Abu al-Walid, Abu Kuteip, and Abu Dzeit. Currently, all of them have been liquidated."

Meanwhile, sources in law enforcement agencies hinted that not three, but four suspects in terrorism were arrested in total. This fourth person could well have been the "legendary" Pavel Kosolapov, who was wanted by the special services as the direct organizer of the terrorist attacks.

Pavel Kosolapov's Background and Alleged Activities

• Pavel Kosolapov is a native of the Gorbatovsky farm in the Volgograd region.
• He was once a cadet at a military school in the Rostov region, from which he was expelled for violating the regime.
• After returning home from the army, he met representatives of the local Chechen diaspora and soon left for Chechnya.
• In Chechnya, Kosolapov converted to Islam and underwent combat training in the camps of Arab field commanders.
• According to the investigation, he was tasked with organizing several terrorist attacks in Krasnodar.
  • Explosions occurred in August 2003 at transport stops in the city, killing 3 people and wounding 16 others.
  • In December, he allegedly organized a terrorist attack on an electric train in Minvody (45 people died, 150 were wounded).

It is assumed that Kosolapov organized the following attacks:

• The terrorist attack in the Moscow metro in February 2004 (42 people died and 250 were wounded).
• The bombings of gas pipelines near Chekhov, Podolsk, and Bronnitsy in the Moscow region.
• An explosion at a market in Samara in June of the same year (11 people died, 71 were wounded).
• Explosions at bus stops in Voronezh (1 person died and 6 were wounded).
• The explosion near the Moscow metro station "Rizhskaya" (10 people died, 51 were wounded).

Sources of "Vremya Novostey" in the law enforcement agencies of the Samara region claim that colleagues from Voronezh have already contacted them for information about...

Explosions and Suspects

• Investigators from the Samara Regional Prosecutor's Office have already left for Voronezh to interrogate the detainees.

Suspect in Organizing Explosions in Voronezh Detained

• On Thursday, the Voronezh Regional Prosecutor's Office officially announced the detention of a suspect in four terrorist attacks that occurred at public transport stops in Voronezh on:

  • February 19, 2004
  • July 19, 2004
  • June 26, 2004
  • January 26, 2005

• Galina Gorshkova, senior assistant to the Voronezh regional prosecutor, told "Vremya Novostei" that:

  • An investigative-operational group consisting of the FSB and the UBOP of the GUVD for the Voronezh region and the central apparatus of the FSB detained the suspect on May 8.
  • On May 10, he was arrested on charges of terrorism and murder.
  • The investigation has strong evidence that the accused committed repeated terrorist attacks not only in Voronezh.
  • In a forest area, he showed a cache containing explosives and accompanying components.
  • The detainee confessed that several years ago he converted to Islam and adheres to Wahhabi views, which led him to commit the crimes.

• Gorshkova also added that:

  • The arrested man is originally from the Rostov region and rented an apartment in Voronezh, but she did not name him.
  • During a search of the apartment, two fake passports were found in the name of a certain Panaryin M.A.
  • According to investigators, Panaryin began to give confessions and gave up his accomplices to the investigators: Khubiev and Shalaev.
  • The latter were also arrested and accused of murder and terror.
  • These people were mentioned by the head of the FSB, Nikolai Patrushev, in yesterday's speech in the State Duma as participants in the organization of terrorist attacks in Russian cities.

• Another source in the special services stated:

  • "We know their names only from the documents that the suspects had in their hands at the time of detention. Whether they are real or fictitious will become known after a series of examinations and interrogations."
  • He confirmed only the arrest of two of them—Khubiev and Panaryin—while, according to him, only the latter is involved in the explosions in Voronezh.
  • Voronezh special services assume that Panaryin was preparing another terrorist attack in the city for May 9, but was exposed a day before.

• The Voronezh special services describe Panaryin as:

  • "Quite an interesting personality."
  • "By the way, a Slav."
  • The reasons that pushed him to crimes are still unclear.
  • They assume that the accused underwent training in the camps of field commanders in Chechnya or Ingushetia, where he attracted attention due to his Slavic appearance, as he would not arouse suspicion among the special services.
  • It is not known for certain whether Panaryin converted to Islam and fought against federal forces, but they have evidence that it was he who was involved in the terrorist attacks at bus stops.

The regional prosecutor's office has charged Maksim Panaryin, detained in the case of explosions in Voronezh and Moscow, with terrorism and murder.

Panaryin has been charged under Articles 205 part 2 (terrorism) and 105 part 2 (murder) of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation for explosions at public transport stops in Voronezh and near the "Rizhskaya" metro station in Moscow, reported Galina Gorshkova, senior assistant to the regional prosecutor.

Under these articles, Panaryin faces life imprisonment.

The public relations group of the Voronezh UFSB stated that the detainee fully admitted his participation in the preparation and implementation of the explosions, Interfax reports.

According to the agency's source, on May 8 in Voronezh, the regional FSB department, together with units of the central apparatus of the Russian FSB, detained a "militant of the Karachay jamaat, a member of a clandestine terrorist group financed by emissaries of terrorist centers in the North Caucasus."

According to the investigation, in the period from 1999 to 2002, he took part in hostilities in Chechnya on the side of illegal armed groups (IAF).

"In 2003, on the instructions of one of the leaders of the IAF, Gloov, he legalized himself on the territory of Russia using false documents for the purpose of preparing and carrying out sabotage and terrorist acts. At the end of 2003, the militant arrived in Voronezh, where, together with another member of the Karachay jamaat, he carried out three explosions. In total, his group planned to use 15 improvised explosive devices (IEDs)," the agency's source said.

The FSB department added that the instructions to carry out the terrorist attacks in Voronezh were given personally by Gloov (the first explosion) and the amir of this jamaat, Nikolai Kipkeev (the second and third). The explosion on January 26, 2005, was carried out by another militant who later died.

"The detainee fully admitted his participation in the preparation and implementation of the explosions in Voronezh. During interrogation, he described in detail the design features of the explosive devices and reported the location of a cache with components of IEDs for subsequent terrorist attacks. In addition, the militant reported that after the July explosions in Voronezh, he moved to Moscow, where, together with Khubiev and Kipkeev, he prepared a terrorist attack in the metro at the "Rizhskaya" station," the agency's source reported.

The UFSB emphasized that "the terrorist's confession regarding his participation in the activities of the IAF (episodes involving a raid into Dagestan as part of Khattab's gang, the shooting of the Perm OMON, and...)" has been procedurally secured.

Pskov paratroopers), preparation and execution of three explosions in Voronezh and a sabotage-terrorist act in Moscow near the "Rizhskaya" metro station in August 2004".

UFSB officers discovered a weapons cache containing:
* hexogen
* electric detonators
* 200 grams of plastic explosive
* 6 CASIO watches (modified for use in an IED mechanism)
* electrical circuits ready for use in IEDs
* sets of wires
* radio components
* electronic boards
* a template for making an IED casing.

As a result of the explosions in Voronezh at public transport stops in 2004 - on February 19, July 19 and 26 - one person died and seven were injured.

Person detained in the case of explosions in Voronezh and Moscow charged with terrorism and murder

The same sabotage group was behind most of the terrorist attacks committed in Russian cities last year. This conclusion was reached by intelligence officers. According to their data, last year's explosions in the Moscow metro, at gas distribution stations and power lines in the Moscow region, at bus stops in Voronezh and at a market in Samara were carried out by militants operating under the leadership of a former cadet of a Russian military school, Pavel Kosolapov. Back in the late 90s, Kosolapov converted to Islam, fought in Chechnya on the side of the militants, and then, at the head of an international group, was sent to Russia to commit terrorist acts, writes "Vremya Novostey".

Russian intelligence services first picked up Kosolapov's trail in March last year. At that time, a terrorist base was discovered in apartment 84 of building No. 53 on Kirov Street in Lyubertsy, near Moscow. FSB operatives found:
* 21 rounds for an RPG-7 handheld anti-tank grenade launcher
* 19 electric detonators
* 18 Casio wristwatches prepared for use as a time delay in an explosive device
* two F-1 grenades
* one RGD-5 grenade.

These were the exact components used to manufacture the explosive devices used to blow up gas pipelines and a power line in the Moscow region.

At the same time, the intelligence services first suspected Kosolapov of links to the terrorists who seized "Nord-Ost" in the fall of 2002. He rented the apartment in Lyubertsy through the same real estate firm, "Kalita-Grad", through which people involved in the "Nord-Ost" seizure had also rented housing. However, the company's management is calm about such a coincidence. "There is nothing surprising in this - we are a large company, we have many clients, and it is impossible to identify bad people by their appearance. We were just unlucky again," Andrey Kirillov-Ugryumov, manager of the real estate firm, explained to "Kommersant" at the time.

Description of Pavel Kosolapov

"By all appearances, he was an absolutely normal person; our employees did not notice anything suspicious in his behavior. He paid monthly, and upon the expiration of the contract, he moved out on time," a company manager said about Kosolapov.

Biography and Radicalization

As "Vremya Novostey" writes, Pavel Kosolapov was born in the Serafimovichsky district of the Volgograd region. In the late 90s, he entered one of the military schools in the Rostov region, but was soon expelled for violating the regime. Kosolapov returned to his native farmstead, where he met representatives of the local Chechen diaspora. They were the ones who suggested the young man go to Chechnya. There, Kosolapov underwent training in the camps of Arab field commanders, converted to Islam, and began fighting against federal forces.

Activity in Chechnya and Recruitment

In this field, Kosolapov managed to prove himself, and soon he was appointed as an instructor at a terrorist base located near Serzhen-Yurt. Among Kosolapov's students were Erkingali Taizhanov and Azamat Toleubay. At one time, at the suggestion of friends, they moved from Kazakhstan to the city of Buguruslan in the Orenburg region and entered a local madrasa. There they were recruited for the war in Chechnya. Russian special services managed to find several video cassettes with footage of Taizhanov and Toleubay's participation in battles. One of the Kazakhs later confessed during interrogations that they acted as part of the detachments of Arab field commanders Abu Umar and Abu Dzeit.

Cooperation with Basaev

When Shamil Basaev decided to commit another series of terrorist attacks on Russian territory, he remembered Pavel Kosolapov, who, thanks to his appearance, would not arouse suspicion among the special services. As a result, it was he who was tasked with creating a sabotage group. In addition to Kosolapov himself, it included the same Taizhanov and Toleubay and several other people. The militants arrived in the Moscow region presumably at the end of 2003. After that, Kosolapov began to choose places for terrorist attacks - both in Moscow and the Moscow region, and in other regions. It is already known that he traveled several times to Samara and Voronezh.

Samara Market Bombing and Search

In March 2004, an explosion at a market in Samara, on Kosolapov's orders, according to investigators, was carried out by two citizens of Kazakhstan - Erkingali Taizhanov and Azamat Toleubay, who were detained in their homeland at the end of last year. Taizhanov hanged himself in his cell, and the Kazakh authorities recently refused to extradite Toleubay. As for Kosolapov, he was put on the wanted list back in the spring of last year, but the special services have not yet managed to track him down.

Moscow Metro Bombing

According to the special services, one of the first major terrorist attacks organized by Kosolapov was the explosion in a capital metro car on February 6, 2004. Then 42 people died, and more than 250 were injured. As Moscow prosecutor's office employees later found out, the bomb was detonated by Anzor Izhaev - a militant who was part of one of the jamaats of Karachay-Cherkessia. The suicide bomber had a curator who accompanied him to the site of the explosion and prepared the terrorist attack. As the special services suspect, it was Kosolapov.

Further Plans

Just a few weeks later, according to operatives, he prepared a series of new terrorist attacks, some of which were carried out by Taizhanov and Toleubay. At the end of February

Terrorist Activities and Investigations

Initial Attacks

• Gas pipelines were blown up four times near Chekhov, Podolsk, and Bronnitsy in the Moscow region.
• On March 15, militants planted bombs under three power line pylons near the Simferopol highway.
• Shamil Basaev claimed responsibility for these actions.

Hiding and the Samara Bombing

• After these events, the militants went into hiding.
• According to some reports, they were hiding in the Moscow or Volgograd regions.
• During this period, Kosolapov introduced a resident of his farmstead to Erkingali Taizhanov.
• Soon the woman converted to Islam and married the Kazakh.
• Together they went to Samara.
• As Taizhanov's wife later said during interrogations, one day he brought home a time bomb and said that he had "found a suitable place for it."
• Soon Toleubai came to visit him, and on June 4, an explosion occurred at the Samara clothing market, during which 11 people were killed and another 71 were injured.
• When a report about this terrorist attack was shown on television in the evening, Taizhanov joyfully told his wife: "Look, I did it."
• Then he went somewhere and returned with 3 thousand euros, explaining that this was the fee for the explosion.
• Soon Taizhanov and Toleubai moved to their native Kazakhstan.

Continued Operations

• Other members of Kosolapov's sabotage group continued to operate.
• According to intelligence services, back on February 19, militants carried out a test explosion near the "Voenny Gorodok" bus stop in Voronezh, during which two people received concussions.
• On July 19 and 26, Kosolapov's saboteurs staged new terrorist attacks at bus stops in Voronezh.
• Then one person died and ten were injured.

Investigation into the Samara Explosion

• The Samara Region Prosecutor's Office, investigating the explosion at the local market, initially suspected that it was connected to showdowns between criminal groups for control over traders.
• 20 people from the circle of the influential businessman Said Tsentroev were arrested, but they were soon released.
• Investigators later found out that the terrorist attack was carried out by Kosolapov's group.

Arrests and Suicide

• Taizhanov, against whom his wife gave testimony, was immediately put on the wanted list.
• On September 3, he was detained in Kazakhstan with drugs, and soon materials from Russia arrived there regarding the militant's involvement in the market bombing.
• As soon as Taizhanov learned that investigators from the Samara regional prosecutor's office had left to interrogate him, he hanged himself in his cell.

Toleubai's Surrender and Legal Issues

• In November, Toleubai unexpectedly surrendered to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Kazakhstan.
• He admitted participation in illegal armed groups in Chechnya, but stated that he had nothing to do with the terrorist attacks in Russia.
• According to Toleubai's version, he came to Samara shortly before the explosion allegedly to pay off a debt to Taizhanov.
• When the question of Toleubai's extradition arose, various legal difficulties immediately appeared.
• Kazakhstan, like most countries, does not extradite its citizens to other states.
• Instead, the local prosecutor general's office proposed to hold a trial for the detainee based on the materials of the Russian criminal case.
• In these materials, Toleubai still appears as a witness, and, as investigators note, in the absence of a suspect, it is difficult to prove his guilt.
• The Prosecutor General's Office of the Russian Federation asked to hand over Toleubai for a while—to conduct investigative actions.
• However, according to the laws of Kazakhstan, this is possible only with the consent of the arrested person, which Toleubai did not give.
• Therefore, temporary extradition to Russia was also refused the other day.