12th suspect held over terror attack

RUSSIA’S top investigative body said that another suspect has been detained following the attack on a suburban Moscow concert hall that killed 143 people.

A statement from the Investigative Committee said the latest person detained was involved in financing Friday’s attack on the Crocus City concert hall, in which gunmen shot people who were waiting for a show by a popular rock band and then set the building on fire.

It did not give further details of the suspect’s identity or alleged actions.

Officials previously said that 11 suspects had been arrested, including four who allegedly carried out the attack.

Those four, identified as Tajik nationals, appeared in a Moscow court on Sunday on terrorism charges and showed signs of having been severely beaten.

One appeared to be barely conscious during the hearing.

A faction of the so-called Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for the massacre but Russian officials, including President Vladimir Putin, have persistently claimed, without evidence, that Ukraine and the West had a role.

The Investigative Committee statement said it has “confirmed data that the perpetrators of the terrorist attack received significant amounts of money and cryptocurrency from Ukraine, which were used in preparing the crime”.

Ukraine denies involvement and its officials claim that Moscow is pushing the allegation as a pretext to intensify its fighting in Ukraine.

Health officials said that about 70 people remain in hospital with injuries from the attack, many of them in severe condition.

TRIBUTES: Flowers near the scene of the Crocus City concert hall massacre in Moscow that left 143 dead.