First picture of smiling teenage Russia attack suspect 'who knifed eight people'
THESE are the first pictures of the suspected teenage jihadist thought to be behind a knife attack in Russia.
First picture of smiling Russian suspect of terror attack
Artur Gadzhiev, 19, named as a suspect in local media reports, can be seen smiling as he works as a security guard in a supermarket before the attack.
The chilling attack on shoppers in the city of Surgut left eight people seriously wounded.
A grim video caught how the attacker was shot dead by a chasing policeman as he fled on foot after refusing to surrender following his knifings.
First picture of smiling teenage Russia attack suspect 'who knifed eight people'
The attack left eight people seriously wounded
Clad in black and wearing a balaclava, he had ignited a small explosive device and used an axe on this first victim.
ISIS claimed responsibility for the killing but the Russian secret services are probing whether the teenager - originally from Dagestan 2,400 miles from where the attack happened - was acting under orders of a jihadist commander or staged a copycat attack.
Moscow chiefs have taken charge of the probe in Surgut, some 1,750 miles east of the capital.
Terrorism has not been ruled out, according to Svetlana Petrenko, spokeswoman for the Russian Investigative Committee, seen as an equivalent of the FBI.
Shocking moment police shoots Surgut knife attacker
She said: "The home of the attacker has been searched.
"The circumstances of the crime and the motives of the attacker are being established now.
"At the moment the investigators are considering all possible reasons for this crime.
Gadzhiev is known to have come from the village of Alamishe in Suleiman-Stalsky district of Dagestan.
He finished school in Dagestan before moving to Siberia.
He was later shot dead by a policeman
He was not known as a regular mosque worshipper in Surgut, said Nizami Magomedov, official representative of Dagestan in the Khanty-Mansi region of Siberia.
Mr Magomedov said: "For me it is double pain as the offender is from my native village, he was born in the village of Alamishe."
But he added: "He acted without preparation, more as a maniac - went out with a machete into the street and began to shred everyone who came across his eyes.
"I have spoken with guys who knew him and worked with him as a security guard.
"Everyone speaks of him as an apparently calm, but closed and unsociable person."