A Moscow court has sanctioned the arrest of 10 suspects in connection with November's bombing of the Nevsky Express train that killed 28 people.
The Basmanny District Court issued warrant arrests for Zelimkhan Aushev and nine members of Ingushetia's Kartoyev clan last week, but Kommersant broke the news about the decision Wednesday.
The 10 suspects were detained in an operation led by the Federal Security Service in the Ingush village of Ekazhevo on March 2, Interfax reported. Eight suspected North Caucasus militants were killed in the operation, including the militants' chief ideologist, Said Buryatsky.
FSB director Alexander Bortnikov told President Dmitry Medvedev on Saturday that investigators believe that the slain and detained rebels were behind the November bombing of the high-speed train traveling from Moscow to St. Petersburg.
The Moscow court authorized the arrest of Aushev, 25, on charges of terrorism and illegal weapons trafficking March 3. Police found detonation wires attached to a cell phone at Aushev's house in Ingushetia together with components for explosives, Kommersant reported Wednesday.
The other nine suspects were placed under arrest on the same charges March 4.
All 10 suspects have pleaded not guilty, Interfax reported.
Two Ingush men were earlier convicted of transporting the explosives to the site of the Nevsky Express bombing.
Further details emerged Wednesday about the suspects slain in the FSB operation last week. Among the dead were four Kartoyev brothers — Tukhan, Akhmet, Magomet and Nazir — as well as a relative, identified only by his last name, Dalgiyev, and the militant group's banker, who also worked at Ingushetia's Treasury, Interfax reported.
Investigators said one Kartoyev brother killed in the operation was suspected of being involved in 15 terrorist attacks and attempted murders.
The Kartoyev clan has a reputation in Ingushetia of being well-off and closely linked to Ingush law enforcement officials. In addition to running a network of gas stations and car repair shops, the clan is believed to have engaged in illegal activities like stealing expensive foreign-made cars for resale, Kommersant reported Saturday.