Russia Metro blast's alleged organiser denies masterminding

A man detained as a suspected organiser of the Saint Petersburg metro bombing denied on Tuesday that he helped mastermind the attack, but did admit indirect involvement in it.

Russia's FSB security service yesterday said it detained Kyrgyzstan-born Abror Azimov in a suburb of Moscow over the deadly April 3 blast that killed 14 people in Russia's second city. The FSB alleged Azimov was "one of the organisers" of the attack and had "carried out training" of the suspected 22- year-old suicide bomber Akbarjon Djalilov, who was born in Central Asian Kyrgyzstan.

At a court hearing on Monday to formally arrest him, Azimov admitted indirect "involvement" in the attack but denied organising it. "I do not oppose being arrested. But I did not say that I was involved in the blast," Azimov was quoted as saying by Russian news agencies.

"There was some involvement by me, but not direct. I was given an order. I did not understand that I was taking part in terrorist activity,"

he said.