Alleged Russian Suicide Bombers Identified, Accomplices Arrested

Named as part of terrorist group

Two suicide bombers whose attacks last month in Volgograd raised fears of terrorist strikes in Russia during the coming Olympic Games have been identified and two accomplices arrested, authorities said Thursday.

The two bombers struck the Volgograd's railroad station Dec. 29 and a crowded trolley bus the next day, killing 34 people in all. The city is about 400 miles northeast of Sochi, site of the Games, and near the Caucasus region, which has long been a battleground between Islamist militants and security forces.

"The two suicide bombers were identified as members of the so-called Buynaksk terrorist group: Asker Samedov and Suleiman Magomedov," read a statement on the Russian Anti-Terrorist Committee's official website, referring to a town in the restive Dagestan region.