Two terrorist members identified as Volgograd suicide bombers

Russian authorities have identified the suicide bombers responsible for the twin bombings that killed 34 people in the Russian city of Volgograd last month.

The National Anti-Terrorism Committee identified the bombers as Asker Samedov and Suleiman Magomedov, members of the Buinaksk terrorist group.

It said that the suicide bombers were known to the police.

Meanwhile, two brothers suspected of helping send the bombers to the violence-plagued Volgograd were also detained by the police.

A suicide bombing at the railway station in Volgograd on December 29 left 15 dead, while a second attack in as many days left at least 19 dead in an explosion on a packed trolleybus.

Moreover, on October 21, a female suicide bomber blew herself up on a bus in Volgograd, killing at least six people and injuring 30 others. The suspected bomber was from Dagestan, one of the predominantly Muslim republics in the North Caucasus.

The blasts have raised safety concerns in the region ahead of the Winter Olympics 2014 due in February in neighbouring Sochi, about 650 kilometres southwest of Volgograd.

Russia has now deployed more than 50,000 police and soldiers in a massive security operation for the Olympics.

A group of explosive-donning bombers from Russia's North Caucasus issued a video last week, warning President Vladimir Putin to expect a "present" at the Olympics.