DUSHANBE -- Tajik authorities detained nine people this week in connection with the March 22 deadly attack on a concert hall near Moscow, local media reported on March 29, citing a security source.
All nine were reportedly detained by the state security service in the Vahdat district on the outskirts of Dushanbe on March 25, and brought to the capital. They are allegedly also suspected of having connections with the Islamic State group, which has claimed responsibility for the terrorist attack.
A separate source in Dushanbe told RFE/RL on March 29 there were several youths among the detainees.
On March 26, a source at Tajik law enforcement agencies told RFE/RL that six people were arrested in Vahdat on suspicion of plotting a terrorist attack but didn't provide further details.
SEE ALSO: Exclusive: Who Are The Suspects In The Moscow Concert Attack? Here's What Their Relatives Say.Russia's Investigative Committee said on March 28 that it had detained another suspect in relation with the attack on the Crocus City Hall venue in the Moscow suburb of Krasnogorsk which killed more than 140 people. The committee didn’t provide details of the suspect’s identity or alleged actions, but said he was detained in suspicion of being involved in financing the attack.
Russian authorities have previously said that 11 suspects had been arrested, including four men who allegedly carried out the attack. Those four -- identified as Tajik citizens Muhammadsobir Faizov, Saidakram Rajabalizoda, Dalerjon Mirzoev, and Faridun Shamsiddin appeared in a Moscow court on March 24 on terrorism charges.
Another Tajik, Lutfulloi Nazrimad, 23, appeared on March 29 in the Basmanny Court of Moscow for a closed-door hearing. According to Kommersant, Nazrimad was detained on March 23. He pleaded guilty to disturbing public order and was sentenced by the Preobrazhensky District Court to administrative arrest for 15 days.
SEE ALSO: What A Missed Terror Warning Says About U.S.-Russian Ties And Putin's ThinkingThe Islamic State-Khorasan, a faction of the Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for the massacre, but Russian officials have persistently claimed -- without presenting evidence -- that Ukraine and the West had a role in the attack.
Kyiv denies involvement and Ukrainian officials claim that Moscow is pushing the allegation as a pretext to intensify its fighting in Ukraine.
White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Russia's charge of Ukrainian involvement in the attack was "nonsense and propaganda" and reiterated that the United States had passed detailed information to Russian security services about an extremist attack in Moscow in advance of the March 22 assault.
"It is abundantly clear that [Islamic State] was solely responsible for the horrific attack in Moscow last week," Kirby said on March 28. "In fact, the United States tried to help prevent this terrorist attack and the Kremlin knows this."