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Videos and Online Profiles Link Suspects to Moscow Attack

When four men were detained by the Russian authorities in connection with the massacre at a concert hall outside Moscow last week, they were dressed in the same attire as the assailants seen in videos of the attack, according to a New York Times analysis of footage from the hall, social media profiles and images leaked or released by Russia.

The identical clothing and other corresponding details suggest they carried out the attack. A video of one of the suspects being detained, for instance, shows him wearing a light brown T-shirt with a distinctive logo on the left breast and pants with a Boss label: Those details match the clothes worn by a gunman in propaganda footage of the attack released by the Islamic State, a.k.a. ISIS.

In addition, the Times analysis shows, the car that the suspects were driving when they were apprehended is the same color and type as one seen in footage from outside the concert hall during the attack.

The four suspects in the assault that left more than 130 dead were identified in a Moscow court hearing on Sunday night as Saidakrami M. Rachabalizoda, Shamsidin Fariduni, Muhammadsobir Z. Fayzov and Dalerjon B. Mirzoyev. They were charged with committing a terrorist act and remanded to custody until May 22.

Dalerjon B. Mirzoyev was charged in a Moscow court in connection with the Crocus City Hall massacre.Credit…Moscow Courts/Telegram
Saidakrami M. Rachabalizoda sitting in a Moscow court as he was charged in connection with the attack.Credit…Moscow Courts/Telegram

Three of the suspects told the court they were from Tajikistan, and in interrogation videos reviewed by The Times, at least two men spoke Tajik. The videos show some of the men being beaten during their detention, and two of the men had clear injuries when they appeared in court. The fourth suspect appeared in court in a wheelchair with apparently limited ability to respond; a leaked copy of his passport suggests he is also a citizen of Tajikistan.

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