The suicide bomber responsible for the terrorist attack at Lubyanka metro station has been identified as Mariam Sharipova, the federal anti-terrorism committee reported on Tuesday.
On March 29, twin blasts at the Lubyanka and Park Kultury stations occurred during the morning rush hour, leaving 40 people dead and dozens injured.
Sharipova was a 28 year old school teacher from the Russian North Caucasian republic of Dagestan. The report confirmed that she was the wife of Dagestani militant leader, Magomedali Vagapov.
Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta reported on Monday that Sharipova's father informed authorities in Dagestan that he recognized one of the attackers in photos distributed on the internet as his daughter.
"My wife and I recognized our daughter immediately," the father said, adding that he and his wife had not known where their daughter was for several days.
"Last time my wife saw our daughter, she was wearing the same red headscarf as in the photo."
According to the paper, Mariam was born in 1982 in Balakhan, a villiage in the Untsukul region of Dagestan. She studied math and psychology and graduated with distinction in 2005, before returning to Balakhan to teach computer science at the local school.
"She was devout, but she never expressed any radical opinions. She always lived at home; we always knew what she was up to," Sharipova's father said.
The suicide bomber who set off the second bomb at Park Kultury metro station has already been identified as Dzhanet Abdurakhmanova (Abdulayeva), born in 1992 in Khasavyurt, which lies to the North of Balakhan in Dagestan.
According to Russian media, Abdurakhmanova was the widow of Dagestani militant Umalat Magomedov (Al-Bar), who was killed during a special law-enforcement operation on December 31, 2009, after he shot at police who were attempting to search a car he was traveling in.
It was previously thought that the two suicide bombers traveled to Moscow together by bus from Kizlyar in Dagestan, however, this would have been impossible for Mariam since the bus ride from Kizlyar to Moscow takes 36 hours and she was with her parents in Dagestan during the day on March 28.
Chechen militant leader Doku Umarov claimed responsibility for the metro attacks, saying in a video message they were revenge for a special operation carried out by federal security forces on February 11, 2010, when 18 militants and four civilians were killed in Ingushetia. He threatened further attacks.
MOSCOW, April 6 (RIA Novosti)
