Chechen suicide attacks

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Main article: Second Chechen War

Between June 2000 and September 2004 Chechen insurgents added suicide bombings to their weaponry. During this period there have been 23 Chechen related suicide attacks in and oustide Chechnya, and the profiles of the suicide bombers have varied just as much as the circumstances surrounding the bombings.

1 Overview
2 Attacks against Russian government targets
3 Attacks against Russian civilian targets
4 References
5 Further reading
6 See also

[edit] Overview

Chechen related suicide attacks did not begin until 2000. Through five years of conflict (the First Chechen War 1994-1996 and the first year of the second war), there were no Chechen related suicide bombings in Russia.

The vast majority of suicide bombings have been directed at those whom the Chechen separatists consider combatants. The preponderance of these attacks have been directed at military installations and government compounds in and around Chechnya.

There is no evidence of foreign involvement in either the planning or execution of Chechen suicide attacks. There is no evidence of foreign involvement in either the planning or execution of Chechen suicide attacks. In contrast to Palestinian National Authority where suicide bombers and/or their families often receive large rewards from Arab sponsors, there is no evidence of financial rewards being given to Chechen suicide bombers.

A majority of the identified Chechen suicide bombers were victims of Russian ‘counter-terrorist’ operations. None of the identified Chechen suicide bombers were socially or economically marginalized relative to the surrounding Chechen population, nor did they exhibit any apparent preexisting psychopathologies or homicidal inclinations. Despair, hopelessness, and a sense of injustice are the lowest common denominators that almost always precipitate suicide terrorism in Chechnya. Even in those cases when Chechen suicide bombers were clearly manipulated by ‘handlers,’ it remains clear that desperation and a desire for revenge makes them more susceptible to this manipulation.

Females comprise a clear majority of Chechnya’s suicide bombers, as 68% of identified Chechen suicide bombers are female. This is in contrast to Palestine, where females make up only a very small minority (ca 5%) of attackers.

The highest concentration of suicide attacks was in the summer of 2003, when a much publicized wave of suicide bombings swept out of Chechnya and into Moscow. This spate of suicide bombings began in earnest not long after the March 23 referendum on the adoption of a new Chechen constitution and after suicide bombings garnered international headlines in Iraq. The second largest concentration of suicide bombings was in the summer of 2000, when Chechen suicide bombers used trucks filled with explosives to attack military targets in Chechnya. The majority of the bombers in this time period were males.

Although the most publicized of Russia’s suicide attacks took place in Moscow, Russia’s suicide attacks have occurred predominantly in Chechnya (14 of 23). Four additional attacks took place in neighboring North Caucasus regions, and four other attacks occurred in Moscow. Although the logistical restraints of striking far away Moscow might had inhibit some separatists from committing suicide attacks there, it is more probable to assume that Chechen suicide terrorists were more inclined to strike at nearby targets that have a close link to the conflict in Chechnya.

[edit] Attacks against Russian government targets

June 2000 - On June 6, Chechnya experienced its first suicide bombing when 17 year old Khava Barayeva, accompanied by 16 year old Luiza Magomadova, drove a truck loaded with explosives through a checkpoint of an OMON base at Alkhan-Yurt in Chechnya; she detonated her bomb outside barracks, killing a number of troops. Another "suicide operation" was carried on June 11 at a checkpoint in Khankala by a former Russian soldier who had converted to Islam and joined the rebels; this explosion killed two OMON officers.

July 2-July 3, 2000 - Chechen guerrillas launched five suicide bomb attacks into Russian military and police headquarters and barracks within 24 hours. In the deadliest, at least 26 police troops were killed and 81 wounded at OMON dormitory in Argun, near capital Grozny. The Russian Interior Ministry for Chechnya based in Gudermes is targeted twice; six Russian troops are killed. Following one of the bombings a firefight broke out between Chechen guerillas and soldiers, killing three soldiers and an unknown number of militants. [1]

December 2001 - A suicide truck bomb driven by a 16-year-old Chechen girl was stopped by gunfire, as it smashed through checkpoints and blockposts on its way to a MVD building in Grozny. [2]

November 29, 2001 - A young Chechen woman, Ajza Gazuyeva, carried out an assassination attempt on the Urus-Martan military district commandant, identified only as General Geydar Gadzhiev, blowing herself up with a hand grenade near a group of Russian soldiers. Gazuyeva had lost a husband, two brothers, and a cousin in the war. Gadzhiev, who was accused of atrocities against civilians by locals, had personally summoned Ajza to witness her husband's and brother's torture and execution. He and several other soldiers later died of their wounds.[3][4][5][6]

February 5, 2002 - 16-year-old Zarema Inarkajeva's boyfriend detonated a small bomb she was holding in a bag inside of the building of Zavodsky district police station in Grozny. Fortunately for Zarema, who was forced into the operation, the bomb did not detonate as expected and there were no casualties.

Government headquarters bombing

December 27, 2002 - Chechen suicide bombers ran vehicles into the heavily guarded republic's government headquarters in Grozny, bringing down the roof and floors of the four-story building. The drivers wore federal military uniforms and carried official passes which allowed them through three successive military checkpoints on their way to the headquarters building; a guard at the fourth and final checkpoint attempted to inspect the vehicles, and began firing on the trucks as they drove through the checkpoint towards the building. Chechen officials said 72 people were killed and 210 wounded, and Shamil Basayev claimed responsibility for a planning and execution of the attack.

May 12, 2003 - Three suicide bombers drove a truck full of explosives into a government administration and security complex including republican FSB headquarters in Znamenskoye, in northern Chechnya; about fifty people were killed and more than 400 wounded, including a number of civilians.

May 14, 2003 - The pro-Russian President Akhmad Kadyrov is attacked by a pair of female suicide bombers at a religious festival in Iliskhan-Yurt, who are however stopped by his bodyguards; 16 die in the blasts. He is also attacked by another young shahidka, Mariam Tashukhadzhiyeva, in Grozny few weeks later.

June 5, 2003 - A female suicide bomber ambushed a bus carrying Russian Air Force pilots in North Ossetia, blowing it up and killing herself and 19 other people and wounding 14.

August 1, 2003 - A suicide bomber driving a truck packed with explosives blew up a military hospital in the town of Mozdok in North Ossetia, bordering Chechnya. The blast killed at least 50.

April 7, 2004 - Ingushetia President Murat Zyazikov, a former KGB general, was lightly injured by a suicide car bomb attack on his motorcade; he was saved by the armour plating of his Mercedes-Benz car.

[edit] Attacks against Russian civilian targets

Although only six out of 23 attacks were directed against civilians, these attacks have drawn a lion’s share of the publicity generated by Chechen suicide tactics.

July 5, 2003 - 19 year old Zulichan Elichadzjijeva blows herself up outside a rock festival at the Tushino airfield near Moscow. Her bomb did not detonate as expected. 15 minutes later, only a few meters from where Zulichan blew herself up, 26 year old Zinaida Alijeva detonates her explosives and kills 11 people on the spot. Four more die in hospital. For many observers, the Tushino attacks appeared out of place.

December 5-10 2003 - A shrapnel-filled bomb believed strapped to a lone male suicide attacker ripped apart a commuter train near Chechnya, killing 46 people and wounding nearly 200. The explosion occurred during a busy morning rush hour when the train was loaded with many students and workers; it ripped the side of the train open as it approached a station near Yessentuki, 750 miles south of Moscow. Only five days later another blast shook Russia -- this time the attack occurred in the very centre of Moscow a female suicide bomber set off explosives near the Kremlin and State Duma; the bomber used suicide belts packed with ball bearings to kill 6 people and injure another 44. Shamil Basayev later claimed responsibility for organising the December 2003 attacks.

February 6, 2004 - A bomb ripped through a Moscow metro car during rush hour morning, killing 40 people and wounding 134. A previously unknown Chechen rebel group claimed responsibility for the bombing; the claim came from a group calling itself Gazoton Murdash, and signed by Lom-Ali ("Ali the Lion") ^[1]^[2]^[3]. According to the statement, the group launched the attack to mark the fourth anniversary of the killing of scores of Chechen civilians by Russian soldiers who took control of the Chechen capital Grozny.

August 27, 2004 - Two Russian airliners that crashed nearly simultaneously on August 24 killing 90 people crashed simultaneously. Investigation found traces of explosives in planes' wreckages, and an Islamic militant group claimed responsibility for the attack in a Web statement. Two Chechen women Amanta Nagayeva (30) and Satsita Dzhebirkhanova (37), from Grozny have been identified as the perpetrators of the attack. Both purchased their tickets just before boarding.