The 2010 Moscow Metro bombings were suicide bombings carried out by two female Islamic terrorists during the morning rush hour of March 29, 2010, at two stations of the Moscow Metro (Lubyanka and Park Kultury), with roughly 40 minutes in between. At least 40 people were killed, and over 100 injured.
Russian officials called the incident "the deadliest and most sophisticated terrorist attack in the Russian capital in six years",[3] a reference to the Avtozavodskaya and Rizhskaya bombings in 2004. At the time of the attacks, an estimated 500,000 people were commuting through Moscow's metro system.[4]
Initial investigation indicated that the bombings were perpetrated by the militant Islamist[5][6]Caucasus Emirate group.[6][7] On March 31, Caucasus Emirate leader Doku Umarov claimed responsibility for ordering the attacks in a video released on the internet. He also stated that such attacks in Russia would continue unless Russia grants independence to Muslim states in the North Caucasus region.[8] The man who brought the suicide bombers to Moscow was arrested in July 2010.[9] The Anti-Terror Committee of Russia confirmed in August 2010 that Magomedali Vagabov, along with four other militants, was killed in an operation in Dagestan. He is believed to be a militant behind the bombings, a close associate of Doku Umarov and the husband of Mariam Sharipova, one of the two suicide bombers.[10]
Background
The bombings were the latest in a series of attacks in Russia since 1994, many attributed to Chechen militants or to the Caucasus Emirate.[11] Since 1999, Chechen separatists gradually shifted away from a pro-western approach of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, becoming strongly influenced by Salafi beliefs which placed them at odds not only with Russia and Pro-Russia Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov, but also with a Dagestani population with strong Sufi traditions.[12][13] A mujahideen group[5][6][12][14] claim they are fighting a "holy war",[15] and wish to create an "Emirate" in the Caucasus.[16] Over 5,000 people have been killed and wounded in the Caucasus since 2002.[17]
Suicide bombings
Locations of the attacks on a metro map
The first explosion occurred on the Red Arrow– 75 years train at the Lubyanka station at approximately 7:56am local time (03:56UTC). The train started from Yugo-Zapadnaya, and stopped at Lubyanka station. Once the train doors opened, explosives worn by a woman standing at the second carriage's second exit detonated. The explosive had a force of up to 1.5kg of trinitrotoluene (TNT).[citation needed] Fifteen people on board the train, and eleven people on the platform, were killed. One victim from the third carriage died from a head injury caused by an 8mm (0.31in) piece of metal.[18]
A second explosion at the Park Kultury station followed at approximately 8:38am, caused by another female, who at the time of the first explosion was riding another train from Yugo-Zapadnaya towards Ulitsa Podbelskogo station in the same direction as the first train. At the time of first explosion, the second train had stopped in the tunnel between Frunzenskaya and Park Kultury stations. It was announced over the speakers that due to technical problems, the train would have to unload the passengers at the next stop. About 40 minutes later, the train reached the station, and once its doors opened, the second female suspect detonated the second explosion, killing fourteen commuters.[18] Panic included stampedes at both stations, as commuters attempted to escape.[7] The second attack was carried out by a dark-haired woman with the equivalent of 2kg of TNT strapped to her waist. Both bombs were packed with metal nuts, bolts and screws, to increase the destructive impact of the blasts.[19]
The Red Arrow– 75 years train upon its first launch
The two women who carried out the attacks wore explosive belts, presumably using detonation devices set inside their mobile phones and activated by a call to self.[20] The attackers intended to strike during peak hours on a weekday when the subway would be at capacity. Eyewitnesses said that some survivors were so badly injured that they constantly splashed heavy amounts of blood on the floor and walls, until they were attended to by doctors.[21]
Forty people, aged between 16 and 65, were killed in the explosions.[24] This counts a victim who died of her injuries on March 30.[25][26] This figure was revised upwards from an earlier count of 36 killed, that had consisted of 24 people in the explosion at the Lubyanka station and 12 at Park Kultury. Two other people died in the resulting stampede at both the stations after the blast. Three of the dead were minors.[27]
A high-ranking official of the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Federation, Captain Viktor Ginkut, was also amongst the passengers killed at Park Kultury station.[28] His residential registry in Sevastopol, Ukraine has raised the question of his actual nationality, but the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia refused to comment on it.[29]
Over 100 other passengers sustained mild to serious injuries.[7][20] Five of the injured passengers remained in critical condition for an extended period.
Subsequent false alarms
A third reportedly failed detonation was announced by Life News roughly 40 minutes later, aimed at one of the two Prospekt Mira stations; however, no explosives were found in the plastic bag, after it was taken from the station.[30] Around 10:04am local time a call from a public phone announcing another planned explosion was made to the Begovaya station staff, but the caller soon revealed it to be a hoax.[31]
Another hoax occurred about an hour after the second explosion at the Ulitsa Podbelskogo station when passengers noticed a Muslim woman entering the train.[32][33]
Aftermath
Overcrowded surface public transport lines on the day of the bombings
Russian television carried little coverage of the attacks for the first hour after the first explosion took place (at 7:57 am). Commentators have criticised this, alleging that it spread more panic and led to citizens feeling helpless.[34][35]
Around 11:00am local time, a special operation was launched to patrol all the subway stations in search of possible clues to trace the instigators. Squads of local police performed passport control at every station of the Sokolnicheskaya Line.[36]
Commuters leave flowers at the Lubyanka station
March 30 was declared a nationwide Day of Mourning.[37] Prime Minister Vladimir Putin issued a decree ordering the allocation from the Reserve Fund of 300,000 rubles (approx. $11,000 USD) to the families of those killed in the bombings, plus 18,000 rubles for funeral expenses, and of 50,000–100,000 rubles to those who were injured in the attacks, depending on the severity of their injuries.[38][39]
Authorities announced that due to upcoming Easter (Paskha), May 1 International Workers Day and May 9 Victory Day, strict security would be imposed on Moscow's metro network up until May 15, 2010.[40] As a result of the terror bombings, the number of daily commuters in the Moscow metro decreased by 17% the next day.[41]
Follow-up
About 48 hours after the Moscow Metro bombings a double suicide bombing hit the Caucasian Republic of Dagestan, killing the city police chief amongst others. Russia immediately drew parallels, saying the two bombings were linked.[citation needed] On April 1 another bombing in Dagestan killed two more people.[citation needed] On April 5, exactly a week after the Moscow attacks, another bombing in Ingushetia targeting a police barracks drew parallels between that and the Dagestan attacks. It was feared that these incidents might lead to an escalation of violence in general.[42]
Investigation
Special meeting following the Moscow metro bombings
According to Interfax news agency, citing law enforcement sources, surveillance cameras captured two women– aged between 18 and 20– boarding the metro at the Yugo-Zapadnaya station. Police were hunting for one 30-year-old man with North Caucasian features, and two other women of Slavic appearance aged 22 and 45 who had been seen shepherding the bombers into the station.[4] All had their faces uncovered.[43]
Unconfirmed reports said the perpetrators tried to take the explosives to the Russian Ministry of Defense building on Arbat street.[37] Law enforcement also speculated the suicide bombers may have confused the stations, missing one of their original targets– Oktyabrskaya station. They opine that the attackers intended to blow up the Lubyanka station, which is located next to central headquarters of FSB, and then Oktyabrskaya, which is attached to the Ministry of Internal Affairs.[44] Officials suspect that Muslim rebels from the troubled North Caucasus region that includes Chechnya are responsible for the attack.[7][30][45] The link to the Caucasian group[46][47] was immediate. According to preliminary reports, law enforcement were notified about possible terror acts through three telegrams indicating potential threats to Moscow's transport system, but the suicide bombers passed through the security. Unofficial reports the morning before the attacks took place indicate many female passengers of North Caucasian appearance were stopped and checked by Moscow security enforcement under pretence of routine ID verifications, and taken to local precincts.[18]
Commuters leave flowers at the Park Kultury station
The Investigation Committee of the Procuracy of the Russian Federation started a criminal investigation under Article 205 of the Russian Criminal Code ("act of terrorism").[48]
Perpetrators
Two female natives of Dagestan are believed to have detonated the explosions. Russian authorities released photographs of both women, showing their facial features to be intact and possibly identifiable.[49][50] Russia's FSB security service have named the suicide bomber behind the Park Kultury metro station explosion[51] as Dzhanet Abdullayeva (1992–2010), "black widow" who had lived in the Khasavyurtsky region of Dagestan.[49] She was the widow of 30-year-old Umalat Magomedov, a prominent insurgent killed by Russian forces on December 31, 2009.[52]
Investigators confirmed that the second attacker was Maryam Sharipova, a 28-year-old schoolteacher from Dagestan, after her father identified her body[53] although he claimed she had a degree in mathematics and psychology and taught computer science while never expressing any "radical beliefs". Although, there was some speculation as to whether her brother had been arrested in connection to North Caucassian fighters.[2][54] Police had identified an apartment rented out by two suspected accomplices of the bombers. The men were believed to have accompanied the women to a metro station in the southwest of the city and handed over the bomb belts. They then went back to the apartment where they were said to have remotely detonated the charges. The two were known to police who have put them on a wanted list.[51]
The Caucasus Emirate immediately denied responsibility for the attack, saying that they planned attacks on economic targets inside Russia, but not against civilians. However, the attack followed a warning from Chechen rebel leader Doku Umarov the prior month of his intent to spread the Caucasian insurgency to Russian cities.[55]
Two days following the blasts, in a video message posted on a Chechen rebel website, Umarov claimed that his group was behind the bombings and that he had ordered the attacks. He said the Moscow attacks were an act of revenge for the killings of Chechen and Ingush civilians by Russian security forces near Arshty on February 11, and that more attacks would follow.[56]
On March, 29 in Moscow were accomplished two special operations on exterminating kafirs and saying hello to the FSB. Both these operations were accomplished by my order [...] And today, any politician, any journalist, any person that would condemn these operations, accuse me of terrorism, I laugh to his face, I only grin[...]
On May 13, FSB director Aleksandr Bortnikov announced that they had identified all members of the group behind the attack and that three of the members were killed during a raid in an attempt to detain them, one of them being the person who escorted the suicide bombers from Dagestan to Moscow.[citation needed] Bortnikov was quoted as saying: "To our great regret, we were unable to detain them alive because they put up fierce armed resistance and were killed."[58]
Reactions
President Dmitry Medvedev visits the Lubyanka Metro
The attack also sparked condemnation and expressions of condolence from numerous governments and heads of state, as well as international bodies such as NATO, the Council of Europe, and the European Union who also condemned the attacks and/or expressed condolences to the victims' families.[citation needed]
Amongst media reactions, there was controversy about how the Russian media handled the reporting in the first hours after the attack. Outside Russia, the United States increased security and police presence on transit systems in New York City, Washington, D.C., Chicago, and Atlanta following the attacks.[59]
Black Widow or Shahidka, is a term for Islamist Chechen female suicide bombers, willing to be a manifestation of violent jihad. They became known at the Moscow theater hostage crisis of October 2002. The commander Shamil Basayev referred to the shahidkas as a part of force of his suicide bombers called the Riyad-us Saliheen Brigade of Martyrs. Basayev also stated that he himself trained at least fifty of the Black Widows. The female suicide bombers have carried out over 65% of the 23 terrorist attacks linked to the Chechen movement since 2000. The Black Widows are associated with terrorist attacks in Chechnya between 1999 and 2005.
In June 2000, the North Caucasian Chechen separatist-led Chechen insurgents added suicide bombing to their tactics in their struggle against Russia. Since then, there have been dozens of suicide attacks within and outside the republic of Chechnya, resulting in thousands of casualties among Russian security personnel and civilians. The profiles of the suicide bombers have varied, as have the circumstances surrounding the bombings.
Terrorism in Russia has a long history starting from the time of the Russian Empire. Terrorism, in the modern sense, means violence against civilians to achieve political or ideological objectives by creating extreme fear.
Vilayat Dagestan, formerly known as Shariat Jamaat, was an Islamist Jihadist group based in the Russian republic of Dagestan and is part of the Caucasus Emirate. The group is closely associated with the separatist conflicts in the nearby Russian republics of Chechnya and Ingushetia, and was created during the Second Chechen War in favor of Dagestan's independence as an Islamic state.
The February 2004 Moscow metro bombing occurred on 6 February 2004 when a male suicide bomber killed 41 people near Avtozavodskaya subway station on the Zamoskvoretskaya Line in Moscow. Up to 250 people were injured in the incident, some of the more common injuries being broken bones and smoke inhalation.
The United Vilayat of Kabarda-Balkaria-Karachay, also known as Vilayat KBK, was a militant Islamist Jihadist organization connected to numerous attacks against the local and federal security forces in the Russian republics of Kabardino-Balkaria and Karachay-Cherkessia in the North Caucasus. Vilayet KBK has been a member of the Caucasus Emirate group since 2007.
The Caucasus Emirate, also known as the Caucasian Emirate, Emirate of Caucasus, or Islamic Emirate of the Caucasus, was a jihadist organisation active in rebel-held parts of Syria and previously in the North Caucasus region of Russia. Its intention was to expel the Russian presence from the North Caucasus and to establish an independent Islamic emirate in the region. The Caucasus Emirate also referred to the state that the group sought to establish. The creation of Caucasus Emirate was announced on 7 October 2007, by Chechen warlord Dokka Umarov, who became its first self-declared "emir".
Riyad-us Saliheen was the name of a small "martyr" (shahid) force of suicide attackers. Its original leader (amir) was the Chechen separatist commander Shamil Basayev. In February and March 2003, the group was designated by the United States and subsequently by the United Nations as a terrorist organization. After several years of inactivity, Riyad-us Saliheen was reactivated by the Caucasus Emirate in 2009 under the command of Said Buryatsky; following his death, Aslan Byutukayev became its new leader.
The insurgency in the North Caucasus was a low-level armed conflict between Russia and militants associated with the Caucasus Emirate and, from June 2015, the Islamic State, in the North Caucasus. It followed the (Russian-proclaimed) official end of the decade-long Second Chechen War on 16 April 2009. It attracted volunteers from the MENA region, Western Europe, and Central Asia. The Russian legislation considers the Second Chechen War and the insurgency described in this article as the same "counter-terrorist operations on the territory of the North Caucasus region".
The August 2004 Moscow metro bombing took place at about 20:17 MSK on 31 August 2004, when a female suicide bomber blew herself up outside Rizhskaya metro station, killing at least 10 people and wounding 50.
The Domodedovo International Airport bombing was a suicide bombing in the international arrival hall of Moscow's Domodedovo International, in Domodedovsky District, Moscow Oblast, on 24 January 2011.
The October 2013 Volgograd bus bombing was a suicide bombing which occurred on 21 October 2013 in the city of Volgograd, in the Volgograd Oblast of Southern Russia. The attack was perpetrated by a female suicide bomber and Islamic extremist named Naida Sirazhudinovna Asiyalova, who detonated an explosive belt inside a bus carrying approximately 40 people—predominantly students. The bombing killed seven civilians and injured at least 41 others.
In December 2013, two separate suicide bombings a day apart targeted mass transportation in the city of Volgograd, in the Volgograd Oblast of Southern Russia, killing 34 people overall, including both perpetrators. The attacks followed a bus bombing carried out in the same city two months earlier.
Aliaskhab Alibulatovich Kebekov, also known as Ali Abu Muhammad, was a North Caucasian militant Islamist in Russia and the leader of the Caucasus Emirate following the death of inaugural leader Dokka Umarov. Following in the same religious tradition as Umarov, he adhered to the ideology of Salafism. The United States Department of State added Kebekov to its list of Specially Designated Global Terrorists on March 25, 2015. On 19 April 2015, Kebekov was killed by Russian security forces during special operations in the settlement of Gerei-Avlak in Buynaksk. An Avar by nationality, Kebekov was the first non-Chechen to lead the North Caucasus insurgency.
On 3 April 2017, a terrorist attack using an explosive device took place on the Saint Petersburg Metro between Sennaya Ploshchad and Tekhnologichesky Institut stations. Eleven people were initially reported to have died, and five more died later from their injuries, bringing the total to 15.
The Insurgency in Kabardino-Balkaria and Karachay-Cherkessia was a protracted conflict between Russian security forces and militant groups operating in the regions of Kabardino-Balkaria and Karachay-Cherkessia, located in the North Caucasus region of Russia. The conflict was part of the broader insurgency in the North Caucasus, which emerged following the end of the First Chechen War in 1996.
1 2 3 Nikolay Sergeyev (March 30, 2010). "Поезд шахидки"[The train of the suicide bomber]. Kommersant. Archived from the original on April 2, 2010. Retrieved March 30, 2010.
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