Alwaght-Russian security force on Thursday held an anti-terrorism drill in St. Petersburg after a terrorist attack in the city claimed 14 lives in April.
Counter-terrorism exercises were held near the Akademicheskaya subway station in the north-eastern part of St. Petersburg.
Sources at the regional headquarters of the Russian National Anti-Terrorism Committee (NAC) say "counter-terrorism drills are held in St. Petersburg. Operational forces and equipment of the law enforcement agencies and special services completing training tasks to prevent and foil terrorist manifestations are involved them."
The drills ended at 6.05am Moscow Time. According to the subway press service, the Akademicheskaya station was closed for passengers from 6.15am to 6.22am Moscow Time.
A bombing took place in the St. Petersburg Metro on April 3 with Russian officials saying it was carried out by Akbarzhon Dzhalilov, a Russian citizen of Kyrgyz origin. It claimed the lives of 14 people and left dozens injured.
A Moscow court, citing the results of the investigation into the incident, announced later in April that the attack was financed by an international terrorist group from Turkey.
“According to the investigation, Akram Azimov personally received funds for the attack in Turkey. He also controlled the process of manufacturing fake ID papers for the members of the criminal group to ensure successful border crossing,” a Basmanny district court judge said in Moscow as she announced the decision to put Azimov, the elder brother of the suspected attack organizer, into custody.
The investigators also found out that Akram traveled to Turkey twice over the past year. The suspect himself denies any involvement in the attack.
Earlier, the head of the Federal Security Service (FSB), Aleksandr Bortnikov, confirmed that Russian investigators had managed to identify the mastermind behind the St. Petersburg Metro attack.
However, he did not offer any additional details about the organizer or their links to individuals currently under investigation.
