Video suggests Syria motive in child murder

MOSCOW — A nanny accused of decapitating a 4-year-old girl and brandishing her head outside a Moscow subway station said during an apparent interrogation captured on video that the killing was an act of revenge against President Vladimir Putin for Russian airstrikes in Syria.

Asked about the video, which was released Thursday, Putin’s spokesman said it was difficult to judge the testimony of a woman he called “clearly deranged.”

Gulchekhra Bobokulova, 38, was detained in Moscow on Monday after the child in her care was killed. Video footage posted online Thursday appeared to show police interrogating her. It was not clear where the video originated, and The Associated Press could not verify its authenticity or the circumstances in which it was taken. She appeared to be wearing the same clothes she wore during a court appearance on Wednesday.

In the video, she says the killing of the child was done in revenge. Asked who it was revenge against, she says “the one who has spilled the blood.” Asked who that was, she replies: “Who spilled it? Putin has been dropping bombs.”

Russia has been carrying out airstrikes in Syria for five months to support Syrian President Bashar Assad’s offensive against rebels. Russian officials have flatly denied numerous reports by international aid groups that accuse it of killing not only Islamic State fighters but also Syrian civilians.

The Investigative Committee, Russia’s top investigative agency, would not confirm or deny the authenticity of the video, but spokesman Vladimir Markin warned that Bobokulova’s words should be treated with caution.

Russian officials seem to be sending mixed messages about the suspect, focusing on her mental record but also suggesting that she probably did not act alone. Prosecutors told the court Wednesday that individuals who may have “incited” Bobokulova to kill the child may still be at large.