The Russian national Anti-Terror Committee (NAK) confirmed on Saturday that a militant leader killed in a police operation in the North Caucasus republic of Dagestan was behind the March bombings on the Moscow metro.
Magomedali Vagabov, along with four other militants, was killed in the Dagestani village of Gunib earlier on Saturday, a police source said.
Vagabov was the husband of Mariam Sharipova, one of the two suicide bombers to attack the Moscow metro on March 29, police said.
Sharipova and the other bomber, Dzhennet Abdurakhmanova, blew themselves up at Lubyanka and Park Kultury metro stations during the morning rush hour, killing 40 people and injuring 100 others.
Vagabov was a close associate of Chechen militant leader Doku Umarov, who has claimed responsibility for the bombings, police said.
NAK said Vagabov was behind many terrorist attacks in Dagestan and other Russian regions and had links to international terrorist organizations.
The Russian North Caucasus, including the troubled republics of Dagestan, Ingushetia and Chechnya, are often plagued by violence and continue to be a cause for concern for the Kremlin.
MOSCOW, August 21 (RIA Novosti)
