Woman at core of Russian Embassy assault in Libya was pro powerlifter

TRIPOLI, Libya, Oct. 4 (UPI) -- A Russian woman whose alleged killing of a Libyan military officer led to a rush on the Russian Embassy in Tripoli was once a pro powerlifter, officials said.

Yekaterina Ustyuzhaninova, the woman the Russia Foreign Ministry identified as being at the center of events that culminated in the attack on the diplomatic compound Thursday, studied at Novosibirsk's state university and worked with the regional branch of the International Powerlifting Association, RIA Novosti reported Friday.

"[Ustyuzhaninova] is my ex-athlete," Vitaly Dubrovin, president of the Novosibirsk region's IPA, told the news agency. "She trained [with us] about three years [ago]. She did bench press and powerlifting. A good girl, sociable."

A Novosibirsk State University representative said Ustyuzhaninova studied foreign languages and history, but never graduated.

Libyan police charge that Ustyuzhaninova killed Libyan Air Force officer Mohammed Soussi Tuesday, leading to the victim's friends and relatives to attack the Russian Embassy in retaliation, authorities said.

Russia evacuated its diplomatic staff and families to Tunisia after the attack. While 51 diplomatic employees and their families flew to Moscow Friday, a group of high-level envoys remained in Tunisia to work with the Libyan authorities, Russia's Emergencies Ministry said.

Foreign ministries for Russia and Libya said the killing of Soussi was the motivation behind the embassy attack. Libyan police arrested Ustyuzhaninova for allegedly shooting and killing Soussi in his home, as well as stabbing his mother.

One report indicated she was a supporter of the late Moammar Gadhafi and was angry that Soussi supported his ouster in 2011, RIA Novosti said.

Two attackers were killed and two other sustained serious injuries during the confrontation, the Libyan Foreign Ministry said.