SAINT PETERSBURG, RUSSIA – APRIL 3, 2017 In the afternoon hours, one of the deadliest attacks in modern Russian history struck the Saint Petersburg metro. A 22-year-old suicide bomber, Akbarzhon Jalilov, detonated an explosive device inside a crowded train between the Sennaya Ploshchad and Tekhnologichesky Institut stations. The blast killed 16 people, including the attacker himself, and injured dozens more.
The explosion occurred shortly after 2:30 PM local time. A second bomb, planted at another station, was fortunately discovered and defused in time. The attack caused panic not only among the residents of Saint Petersburg but across all of Russia.
Investigations revealed that Jalilov, originally from Kyrgyzstan, had links to radical Islamist groups. His act was not isolated – it was part of a broader trend of attacks targeting civilians on Russian public transport, previously seen in Moscow, Volgograd, and at Domodedovo Airport.
In the years following, Russian authorities arrested and convicted 11 individuals who were believed to have assisted in planning the attack. The courts handed down severe sentences ranging from 19 years to life imprisonment. Some of the accused later claimed to have faced torture while in custody.
READ MORE:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2017_Saint_Petersburg_Metro_bombing
https://time.com/4722841/st-petersburg-explosion-subway/
https://www.axios.com/2017/12/15/metro-blast-in-st-petersburg-14-dead-more-than-50-injured-in-terror-attack-1513301339
