Perpetrator of Moscow car bomb attack nabbed in Bodrum

MUĞLA

Turkish security forces have apprehended a Russian assailant in the southern province of Muğla's Bodrum district as he escaped to Türkiye after orchestrating a bomb attack in Moscow.

A vehicular explosive device detonated in the Russian capital on July 24 morning, injuring two individuals.

Subsequent to the attack, the Russian Interpol unit contacted the Turkish police reporting that Russian national Evgenii Serebriakov executed a terrorist attack with a car bomb in Moscow and subsequently fled to Türkiye on a Moscow-Bodrum flight.

Investigations revealed that Serebriakov entered Türkiye through Bodrum Airport in Muğla at 9:40 a.m. but was not recognized as he was not listed in the Interpol International Wanted Persons Database and had no criminal record in Turkish legal database, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said.

Hours after the attack, the Turkish units apprehended the perpetrator in Bodrum.

Yerlikaya, withholding operational specifics, asserted, "We persist in our resolute and unwavering fight against terrorists and global terrorism, both within and beyond our borders."

While Russian officials refrained from commenting on the attack's target, Russian media alleged that the bombing was aimed at Commander Andrei Torgashov, involved in the special military operation in Ukraine, and his spouse, who were reportedly rescued from the vehicle with injuries. Torgashov, however, refuted these claims in a statement to a Russian news agency, declaring, "Utterly false. This explosion bears no connection to me."