A St. Petersburg court placed a 24-year-old woman in pre-trial detention on terrorism charges over an alleged attempt to kill an employee of a Russian drone production company.
Federal Security Service (FSB) agents arrested the unidentified woman last Thursday, according to a statement from the St. Petersburg court system.
She is accused of trying to plant an explosive device under the car of a department head at an unnamed company. Authorities said she was unable to successfully plant the device “due to circumstances beyond her control” and fled the scene.
The state-run RIA Novosti news agency, citing an anonymous law enforcement source, reported that the intended target worked at an IT company involved in drone development.
The woman reportedly admitted her guilt, according to the source.
St. Petersburg’s Primorsky District Court ordered her to be held in custody until Aug. 18 pending trial on charges of attempted terrorism and illegal possession of explosives.
The local news outlet Fontanka reported that the hearing took place last Friday. The woman, said to have been born in Moscow, may have recently changed her name and had lived in St. Petersburg for at least a year.
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