Ruslan Kostoev: Magas was actual customer of explosion in Nevinnomyssk

The explosion at the bus station of Nevinnomyssk was carried out by means of an improvised explosive device (IED), delivered by the leaders of North-Caucasian militants Ali Taziev and Rustam Dzortov, the convicts on the case said today at the trial of Taziev. The actual customer of the explosion was Taziev, Ruslan Kostoev, a convict on the case, said today.

At the hearing on May 22, the court listened to testimonies of Ruslan Kostoev and Zurab Tsuroev, earlier convicted for the bus explosion in Nevinnomyssk. The interrogation of the witnesses, who are kept at the Lefortovo SIZO (pre-trial prison), was conducted by means of a video conferencing.

Ruslan Kostoev told the court that in late 2007 Taziev (also known as "Magas") and Dzortov gave him two IEDs, masked as one-litre bags of orange and peach juice and stuffed with striking elements. He was ordered to plant them in crowded places outside Ingushetia. Kostoev chose his long-time friend Zurab Tsuroev as the performer of the terror act; at that time Tsuroev was an employee of the Federal Drug Control Service; he was promised 100,000 roubles for triggering the blast.

According to Kostoev, "Magas" ordered to commit the explosion in order to "scare people" and "to separate from Russia" as an independent caliphate.