Terror arrests

Russian authorities have arrested the brother and sister of the man suspected of blowing himself up at a Moscow airport last month, for allegedly helping him carry out the attack.

Security officials said the brother and sister of the 20-year-old alleged bomber, Magomed Yevloyev, were suspected of acting as his accomplices. The family is from the North Caucasus region of Ingushetia.

The Ingush authorities arrested Yevloyev's teenage brother Akhmed and his sister Fatima, according to the Interfax news agency.

Another news agency said the police had also detained a third suspect, identified as Umar Aushev, 23.

A court in Ingushetia has ordered the siblings to be held for two months while investigations into their possible involvement in the attack on Russia's busiest airport continue.

Chechen warlord claims responsibility

The suicide bomber struck Moscow's Domodedovo Airport on January 24, killing 36 people and injuring over 150 others. The Chechen rebel leader Doku Umarov has claimed responsibility for orchestrating the attack. He has vowed "blood and tears" in Russia if it refuses to abandon its mostly Muslim North Caucasus territories.

Magomed Yevloyev was named as the bomber by Russian news agencies and by police sources as well as in state-controlled television reports.

Yevloyev's father told state television last week that his son had left the family home several months earlier to look for a seasonal job. He had then disappeared.

Russian officials have refused to comment on Umarov's claims of responsibility, which were also not reported by the country's national television stations.

Author: Joanna Impey (AFP, AP)
Editor: Martin Kuebler