Moscow's averted terrorist attack

What's known and still unknown about the bomb discovered in Russia's capital on October 11

On October 11, Russia's National Anti-Terrorism Committee announced that police in Moscow have prevented a terrorist attack. Law enforcement officers detained several individuals suspected of plotting to detonate a bomb in the city. A Moscow bomb squad also defused an explosive device discovered at the suspected terrorists' apartment. There are unconfirmed reports that the suspects are originally from Syria. Meduza recaps what we know and do not know about this averted attack.

What we know

The arrests took place at a home on Strelbishchenskiy Lane in Moscow. The National Anti-Terrorism Committee has released very few details about the incident, not yet even updating its website. So far, it's still unclear how many individuals were arrested; we only know that it was multiple people. A source at the news agency Interfax says ten people were arrested. According to another news agency, RIA Novosti, police cordoned off the apartment building and evacuated several dozen people from the area, though a video leaked by LifeNews (which is how we know the incident took place where it did) shows no police cordon or evacuations. That video also shows the police operation being carried out by plainclothes officers: men wearing tracksuits load the suspects into a Volkswagon car without any official markings. No one was reportedly hurt in the raid.

Law enforcement agents defused an explosive device. This piece of information is the only detail the authorities have verified, so far. According to the news agency TASS, the bomb had the equivalent of roughly four kilograms (nine pounds) of TNT. Sources say the building's gas supply was also disconnected for five hours on October 11, though it's not known if this was part of the bomb squad's efforts. Interfax reports that the suspects planned to use a mobile phone as a detonator.

What we don't know

Who are these suspects? There is no official information about the people detained in this operation. Interfax says most of the suspects are men from Central Asia, though the agency later published an unconfirmed report that three of the people arrested are Syrians. One of Interfax's sources implies that the terrorist plot could be connected to an attack in Ankara, Turkey, on October 10 that claimed the lives of nearly 100 people, though the nature of this connection remains unclear. Update: The Federal Security Service reports that all suspects are Russian citizens, some of whom underwent training by ISIL in Syria.

What were they trying to do? LifeNews says the men may have planned to attack the Moscow subway, one of the city's airports, or other public places, though this information is unverified. It's unclear if there was a danger of the bomb detonating at Strelbishchenskiy Lane, where it was discovered, but reports that the gas was shut off at the suspects' apartment building has led to speculation that there was such a risk. The suspects' motives and possible affiliations with known terrorist groups remain unknown.

How did police discover these suspected criminals? According to LifeNews, a tenant in the building on Strelbishchenskiy Lane alerted the police, after seeing suspicious men on the premises discussing something about a "detonator." Later reports, however, indicate that the tenant had only overheard police officers who were already on the scene.