2010 Moscow Metro bombings
Encyclopedia
The 2010 Moscow Metro bombings were suicide bombings carried out by two women
during the morning rush hour
of March 29, 2010, at two stations of the Moscow Metro
(Lubyanka
and Park Kultury), with roughly 40 minutes interval 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", 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.
Initial investigation indicated that the bombings were perpetrated by the Islamist Chechen separatists of the Caucasus Emirate. On March 31, Chechen rebel leader Doku Umarov
confirmed suspicions when he claimed responsibility for ordering the attacks in a video released on the internet. He has also stated that such attacks in Russia will continue unless Russia grants independence to Muslim states in the North Caucasus
region. The man who brought the suicide bombers to Moscow was arrested in July 2010. 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.
separatists or to the "Caucasus Emirate
". Since 1999, Chechen separatists gradually shifted away from a more secular approach of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria
, strongly influenced by Wahhabi beliefs which placed them at odds not only with Russia and pro-Russian Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov
, but also with a Dagestani population with strong Sufi traditions. A mujahideen group claim they are fighting a "holy war
", and wish to create an "Emirate" in the Caucasus. Over 5,000 people have been killed and wounded in the Caucasus since 2002.
at approximately 7:56 am local time (3:56 am UTC). 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 1.5 kg of trinitrotoluene (TNT). 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 8 mm (0.31496062992126 in) piece of metal.
A second explosion at the Park Kultury station followed at approximately 8:38 am, caused by another female, who at the time of the first explosion was riding another train from Sokolniki
station in the same direction. At the time of first explosion, the second train had stopped 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. Panic included stampedes at both stations, as commuters attempted to escape. The second attack was carried out by a dark-haired woman with the equivalent of 2 kg of TNT strapped to her waist. Both bombs were packed with metal nuts, bolts and screws, to increase the destructive impact of the blasts.
The two women who carried out the attacks wore explosive belts, presumably using detonation devices set inside their mobile phone
s and activated by a call to self.
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.
Alexander Bortnikov
, the FSB chief, said its investigation pointed to "terrorist groups related to the North Caucasus
".
Citizenry of those killed and wounded were updated by the Ministry of Emergency Situations.
At least 39 people, aged between 16 and 65, were killed in the explosions. A 40th victim died of her injuries on March 30. 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.
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. His residential registry in Sevastopol
, Ukraine has raised the question of his actual nationality, but Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia
refused to comment on it.
Over 100 other passengers sustained mild to serious injuries. Five of the injured passengers remained in critical condition for an extended period.
Another hoax occurred about an hour after the second explosion at the Ulitsa Podbelskogo
station when passengers noticed a Muslim woman entering the train.
Around 11:00 am local time, a special operation was launched to patrol all the subway stations in search of possible clues to trace the instigators. A passport
control brigade of local militia was also deployed at every station of the Sokolnicheskaya Line
.
Russia's Interior Ministry head Rashid Nurgaliyev
said security was being boosted across the country, "in particular in those cities with metro systems."
March 30 was declared a nationwide Day of Mourning.
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.
Authorities have 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. As a result of the terror bombings, the number of daily commuters in the Moscow metro decreased by 17% the next day.
appearance aged 22 and 45 who had been seen shepherding the bombers into the station. All had their faces uncovered.
Unconfirmed reports said the perpetrators tried to take the explosives to the Russian Ministry of Defense building on Arbat street
. 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.
Officials suspect that Muslim rebels from the troubled North Caucasus
region that includes Chechnya
are responsible for the attack. The link to the Caucasian group 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.
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").
who had lived in the Khasavyurtsky region of Dagestan. Investigators confirmed that the second attacker was Maryam Sharipova, a 28-year-old schoolteacher from Dagestan, after her father identified her body 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. 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.
Moscow said that there were an additional twenty-one "black widows" ready to strike, and were studying if the alleged attackers were part of an original group of thirty. Female suicide bombers
, known as "black widows," have been involved in suicide bombings on numerous occasions, including 2004 bombings of two passenger planes that took off from Domodedovo International Airport
, previous Moscow metro bombings, the Moscow theater hostage crisis
, and the Beslan school hostage crisis
.
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.
Two days following the blasts, in a video message posted on a Chechen rebel website, Umarov claimed that his Islamist 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.
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. 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."
and Prime Minister
Vladimir Putin
as well as Ramzan Kadyrov
, President
of the Chechen Republic, were quick to comment on the attacks. The heads of Russia's three biggest religious bodies also condemned the attacks and called for justice. The Russian Council of Mufti
s said that "extremism and terrorism have no basis in the Holy Qur'an
," and added that "a terrorist cannot be a Muslim while a Muslim cannot be a terrorist." Russia's chief rabbi
, Berel Lazar
, said he was sure the masterminds of the terrorist attack would get the punishment they deserved.
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.
Amongst media reactions, there was controversy about how the Russian media handled the reporting in the first hours after the attack. Additionally, the video laying claim to the attack was posted on Youtube
, where 650,000 viewers saw it. It has since been removed from the site along with other videos of Doku Umarov.
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.
during the morning rush hour
Rush hour
A rush hour or peak hour is a part of the day during which traffic congestion on roads and crowding on public transport is at its highest. Normally, this happens twice a day—once in the morning and once in the evening, the times during when the most people commute...
of March 29, 2010, at two stations of the Moscow Metro
Moscow Metro
The Moscow Metro is a rapid transit system serving Moscow and the neighbouring town of Krasnogorsk. Opened in 1935 with one line and 13 stations, it was the first underground railway system in the Soviet Union. As of 2011, the Moscow Metro has 182 stations and its route length is . The system is...
(Lubyanka
Lubyanka (Metro)
Lubyanka is a station on the Sokolnicheskaya Line of the Moscow Metro, located under Lubyanka Square. It opened in 1935 as part of the first stage of the Metro.-History:...
and Park Kultury), with roughly 40 minutes interval 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", a reference to the Avtozavodskaya
February 2004 Moscow metro bombing
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...
and Rizhskaya bombings
August 2004 Moscow metro bombing
The August 2004 Moscow metro bombing took place in the morning on August 31, 2004, when a female suicide bomber blew herself up outside Rizhskaya metro station, killing at least 10 people and wounding 50....
in 2004. At the time of the attacks, an estimated 500,000 people were commuting through Moscow's metro system.
Initial investigation indicated that the bombings were perpetrated by the Islamist Chechen separatists of the Caucasus Emirate. On March 31, Chechen rebel leader Doku Umarov
Doku Umarov
Doku Khamatovich Umarov is a major Chechen Islamist rebel militant in Russia. He is responsible for numerous terror attacks on civilians, earning himself the nickname "Russia's Osama Bin Laden"....
confirmed suspicions when he claimed responsibility for ordering the attacks in a video released on the internet. He has also stated that such attacks in Russia will continue unless Russia grants independence to Muslim states in the North Caucasus
North Caucasus
The North Caucasus is the northern part of the Caucasus region between the Black and Caspian Seas and within European Russia. The term is also used as a synonym for the North Caucasus economic region of Russia....
region. The man who brought the suicide bombers to Moscow was arrested in July 2010. 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.
Background
The bombings were the latest in a series of attacks in Russia since 1994, many attributed to ChechenChechen people
Chechens constitute the largest native ethnic group originating in the North Caucasus region. They refer to themselves as Noxçi . Also known as Sadiks , Gargareans, Malkhs...
separatists or to the "Caucasus Emirate
Caucasus Emirate
The Caucasus Emirate also known as the Caucasian Emirate is a self-proclaimed virtual state entity, partially successor to the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria and was officially announced on October 31, 2007 by former President of Ichkeria Dokka Umarov, who became the first Emir...
". Since 1999, Chechen separatists gradually shifted away from a more secular approach of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria
Chechen Republic of Ichkeria
The Chechen Republic of Ichkeria is the unrecognized secessionist government of Chechnya. The republic was proclaimed in late 1991 by Dzokhar Dudayev, and fought two devastating wars between separatists and the Russian Federation which denounced secession...
, strongly influenced by Wahhabi beliefs which placed them at odds not only with Russia and pro-Russian Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov
Ramzan Kadyrov
Ramzan Akhmadovich Kadyrov is the President of Chechnya and a former Chechen rebel.Ramzan is a son of former Chechen President Akhmad Kadyrov, assassinated in May 2004. In February 2007 Kadyrov replaced Alu Alkhanov as President, shortly after he had turned 30, which is the minimum age for the post...
, but also with a Dagestani population with strong Sufi traditions. A mujahideen group claim they are fighting a "holy war
Jihad
Jihad , an Islamic term, is a religious duty of Muslims. In Arabic, the word jihād translates as a noun meaning "struggle". Jihad appears 41 times in the Quran and frequently in the idiomatic expression "striving in the way of God ". A person engaged in jihad is called a mujahid; the plural is...
", and wish to create an "Emirate" in the Caucasus. Over 5,000 people have been killed and wounded in the Caucasus since 2002.
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. On April 1 another bombing in Dagestan killed two more people. 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 seen as a fear that these incidents lead to an escalation of violence as a whole.Suicide bombings
The first explosion occurred on the Red Arrow – 75 years train at the Lubyanka stationLubyanka (Metro)
Lubyanka is a station on the Sokolnicheskaya Line of the Moscow Metro, located under Lubyanka Square. It opened in 1935 as part of the first stage of the Metro.-History:...
at approximately 7:56 am local time (3:56 am UTC). The train started from Yugo-Zapadnaya
Yugo-Zapadnaya
Yugo-Zapadnaya , is the southwestern terminus of the Sokolnicheskaya Line of the Moscow Metro. Like dozens of other Metro stations dating to the 1960s , the station was built according to the standard pillar-trispan or "centipede" design. The architect was Ya.V. Tatarzhinskaya. Visually...
, 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 1.5 kg of trinitrotoluene (TNT). 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 8 mm (0.31496062992126 in) piece of metal.
A second explosion at the Park Kultury station followed at approximately 8:38 am, caused by another female, who at the time of the first explosion was riding another train from Sokolniki
Sokolniki (Metro)
Sokolniki is a Moscow Metro station in Sokolniki District, Eastern Administrative Okrug, Moscow. It is on the Sokolnicheskaya Line, between Krasnoselskaya and Preobrazhenskaya Ploshchad stations. It is located under Rusakovskaya street at the foot of Sokolnicheskaya Square and was part of the...
station in the same direction. At the time of first explosion, the second train had stopped 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. Panic included stampedes at both stations, as commuters attempted to escape. The second attack was carried out by a dark-haired woman with the equivalent of 2 kg of TNT strapped to her waist. Both bombs were packed with metal nuts, bolts and screws, to increase the destructive impact of the blasts.
The two women who carried out the attacks wore explosive belts, presumably using detonation devices set inside their mobile phone
Mobile phone
A mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...
s and activated by a call to self.
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.
Alexander Bortnikov
Alexander Bortnikov
Alexander Vasilyevich Bortnikov is a Russian official. He is Director of the FSB since May 12, 2008.-Career:In 1975–2004 he worked in KGB and its successors in Leningrad/Saint Petersburg. In June 2003 – March 2004 he was the Chief of the St...
, the FSB chief, said its investigation pointed to "terrorist groups related to the North Caucasus
North Caucasus
The North Caucasus is the northern part of the Caucasus region between the Black and Caspian Seas and within European Russia. The term is also used as a synonym for the North Caucasus economic region of Russia....
".
Casualties
| Nationality | Deaths | Hospitalized |
|---|---|---|
| 37 | 75 | |
| 3 | 1 | |
| – | 3 | |
| – | 1 | |
| – | 1 | |
| – | 1 | |
| Unidentified | – | 3 |
| Total | 40 | 85 |
Citizenry of those killed and wounded were updated by the Ministry of Emergency Situations.
At least 39 people, aged between 16 and 65, were killed in the explosions. A 40th victim died of her injuries on March 30. 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.
A high-ranking official of the Black Sea Fleet
Black Sea Fleet
The Black Sea Fleet is a large operational-strategic sub-unit of the Russian Navy, operating in the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea since the late 18th century. It is based in various harbors of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov....
of the Russian Federation, Captain Viktor Ginkut, was also amongst the passengers killed at Park Kultury station. His residential registry in Sevastopol
Sevastopol
Sevastopol is a city on rights of administrative division of Ukraine, located on the Black Sea coast of the Crimea peninsula. It has a population of 342,451 . Sevastopol is the second largest port in Ukraine, after the Port of Odessa....
, Ukraine has raised the question of his actual nationality, but Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation is the central government institution charged with leading the foreign affairs of Russia. Its predecessor organisation is the Ministry of External Relations of the USSR...
refused to comment on it.
Over 100 other passengers sustained mild to serious injuries. 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. Around 10:04 am 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.Another hoax occurred about an hour after the second explosion at the Ulitsa Podbelskogo
Ulitsa Podbelskogo
Ulitsa Podbelskogo is a Moscow Metro station in the Bogorodskoye District, Eastern Administrative Okrug, Moscow. It is on the Sokolnicheskaya Line, serving as its eastern terminus. Ulitsa Podbelskogo was opened in 1990.- Name :...
station when passengers noticed a Muslim woman entering the train.
Aftermath
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.Around 11:00 am local time, a special operation was launched to patrol all the subway stations in search of possible clues to trace the instigators. A passport
Passport
A passport is a document, issued by a national government, which certifies, for the purpose of international travel, the identity and nationality of its holder. The elements of identity are name, date of birth, sex, and place of birth....
control brigade of local militia was also deployed at every station of the Sokolnicheskaya Line
Sokolnicheskaya Line
The Sokolnicheskaya Line is the first line of the Moscow Metro, dating back to 1935 when the system opened. Presently the line has 19 stations with a total of of track...
.
Russia's Interior Ministry head Rashid Nurgaliyev
Rashid Nurgaliyev
Rashid Gumarovich Nurgaliyev is a Russian general and politician of the Tatars descent. Since 2002, he has been the minister of the Internal Affairs of Russia.-Early years:...
said security was being boosted across the country, "in particular in those cities with metro systems."
March 30 was declared a nationwide Day of Mourning.
Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Russia
The Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation The use of the term "Prime Minister" is strictly informal and is not allowed for by the Russian Constitution and other laws....
Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin served as the second President of the Russian Federation and is the current Prime Minister of Russia, as well as chairman of United Russia and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Union of Russia and Belarus. He became acting President on 31 December 1999, when...
issued a decree ordering the allocation from the Reserve Fund of 300,000 rubles
Russian ruble
The ruble or rouble is the currency of the Russian Federation and the two partially recognized republics of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Formerly, the ruble was also the currency of the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union prior to their breakups. Belarus and Transnistria also use currencies with...
(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.
Authorities have announced that due to upcoming Easter
Easter
Easter is the central feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to the Canonical gospels, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. His resurrection is celebrated on Easter Day or Easter Sunday...
(Paskha), May 1 International Workers Day
May Day
May Day on May 1 is an ancient northern hemisphere spring festival and usually a public holiday; it is also a traditional spring holiday in many cultures....
and May 9 Victory Day, strict security would be imposed on Moscow's metro network up until May 15, 2010. As a result of the terror bombings, the number of daily commuters in the Moscow metro decreased by 17% the next day.
Investigation
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 SlavicSlavic peoples
The Slavic people are an Indo-European panethnicity living in Eastern Europe, Southeast Europe, North Asia and Central Asia. The term Slavic represents a broad ethno-linguistic group of people, who speak languages belonging to the Slavic language family and share, to varying degrees, certain...
appearance aged 22 and 45 who had been seen shepherding the bombers into the station. All had their faces uncovered.
Unconfirmed reports said the perpetrators tried to take the explosives to the Russian Ministry of Defense building on Arbat street
Arbat Street
The Arbat is an approximately one-kilometer long pedestrian street in the historical centre of Moscow. The Arbat has existed at least since the 15th century, thus laying claim to being one of the oldest surviving streets of the Russian capital. It forms the heart of the Arbat District of Moscow...
. 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.
Officials suspect that Muslim rebels from the troubled North Caucasus
North Caucasus
The North Caucasus is the northern part of the Caucasus region between the Black and Caspian Seas and within European Russia. The term is also used as a synonym for the North Caucasus economic region of Russia....
region that includes Chechnya
Chechnya
The Chechen Republic , commonly referred to as Chechnya , also spelled Chechnia or Chechenia, sometimes referred to as Ichkeria , is a federal subject of Russia . It is located in the southeastern part of Europe in the Northern Caucasus mountains. The capital of the republic is the city of Grozny...
are responsible for the attack. The link to the Caucasian group 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
North Caucasus
The North Caucasus is the northern part of the Caucasus region between the Black and Caspian Seas and within European Russia. The term is also used as a synonym for the North Caucasus economic region of Russia....
appearance were stopped and checked by Moscow security enforcement under pretence of routine ID verifications, and taken to local precincts.
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").
Perpetrators
Two female natives of Daghestan are believed to have detonated the explosions. Russian authorities released photographs of both women, showing their facial features to be intact and possibly identifiable. Russia's FSB security service have named the suicide bomber behind the Park Kultury metro station explosion as Dzhanet Abdullayeva, a 17-year-old "black widow"Shahidka
Shahidka |shahid]]), sometimes called "Black Widow", is a term for Islamist Chechen female suicide bombers, who made themselves known at the Moscow theater hostage crisis of October 2002...
who had lived in the Khasavyurtsky region of Dagestan. Investigators confirmed that the second attacker was Maryam Sharipova, a 28-year-old schoolteacher from Dagestan, after her father identified her body 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. 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.
Moscow said that there were an additional twenty-one "black widows" ready to strike, and were studying if the alleged attackers were part of an original group of thirty. Female suicide bombers
Suicide Bombers
Suicide Bombers is the name of a 2005 EP by Leæther Strip. For the Australian hardcore band see Suicide Bombers -Track listing:# Suicide Bombers# Suicide Bombers # The Shame Of A Nation # This Is Where I Wanna Be...
, known as "black widows," have been involved in suicide bombings on numerous occasions, including 2004 bombings of two passenger planes that took off from Domodedovo International Airport
Domodedovo International Airport
Moscow Domodedovo Airport or Domodedovo International Airport is an international airport located in Domodedovsky District, Moscow Oblast, Russia, south-southeast of the centre of Moscow...
, previous Moscow metro bombings, the Moscow theater hostage crisis
Moscow theater hostage crisis
The Moscow theater hostage crisis, also known as the 2002 Nord-Ost siege, was the seizure of the crowded Dubrovka Theater on 23 October 2002 by some 40 to 50 armed Chechens who claimed allegiance to the Islamist militant separatist movement in Chechnya. They took 850 hostages and demanded the...
, and the Beslan school hostage crisis
Beslan school hostage crisis
The Beslan school hostage crisis of early September 2004 was a three-day hostage-taking of over 1,100 people which ended in the deaths of over 380...
.
The Caucasus Emirate
Caucasus Emirate
The Caucasus Emirate also known as the Caucasian Emirate is a self-proclaimed virtual state entity, partially successor to the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria and was officially announced on October 31, 2007 by former President of Ichkeria Dokka Umarov, who became the first Emir...
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
Doku Umarov
Doku Khamatovich Umarov is a major Chechen Islamist rebel militant in Russia. He is responsible for numerous terror attacks on civilians, earning himself the nickname "Russia's Osama Bin Laden"....
the prior month of his intent to spread the Caucasian insurgency to Russian cities.
Two days following the blasts, in a video message posted on a Chechen rebel website, Umarov claimed that his Islamist 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
Ingush
Ingush may refer to:* The Ingush language* The Ingush people, an ethnic group of the North Caucasus...
civilians by Russian security forces near Arshty on February 11, and that more attacks would follow.
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. 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."
Reactions
Following the attacks, Russian President Dmitry MedvedevDmitry Medvedev
Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev is the third President of the Russian Federation.Born to a family of academics, Medvedev graduated from the Law Department of Leningrad State University in 1987. He defended his dissertation in 1990 and worked as a docent at his alma mater, now renamed to Saint...
and Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Russia
The Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation The use of the term "Prime Minister" is strictly informal and is not allowed for by the Russian Constitution and other laws....
Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin served as the second President of the Russian Federation and is the current Prime Minister of Russia, as well as chairman of United Russia and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Union of Russia and Belarus. He became acting President on 31 December 1999, when...
as well as Ramzan Kadyrov
Ramzan Kadyrov
Ramzan Akhmadovich Kadyrov is the President of Chechnya and a former Chechen rebel.Ramzan is a son of former Chechen President Akhmad Kadyrov, assassinated in May 2004. In February 2007 Kadyrov replaced Alu Alkhanov as President, shortly after he had turned 30, which is the minimum age for the post...
, President
President of the Chechen Republic
The President of the Chechen Republic, known commonly as the President of Chechnya, is the highest office within the Government of Chechnya. The office was instituted in 2003 during the course of the Second Chechen War, when the Russian federal government regained control over the...
of the Chechen Republic, were quick to comment on the attacks. The heads of Russia's three biggest religious bodies also condemned the attacks and called for justice. The Russian Council of Mufti
Mufti
A mufti is a Sunni Islamic scholar who is an interpreter or expounder of Islamic law . In religious administrative terms, a mufti is roughly equivalent to a deacon to a Sunni population...
s said that "extremism and terrorism have no basis in the Holy Qur'an
Qur'an
The Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...
," and added that "a terrorist cannot be a Muslim while a Muslim cannot be a terrorist." Russia's chief rabbi
Chief Rabbi
Chief Rabbi is a title given in several countries to the recognized religious leader of that country's Jewish community, or to a rabbinic leader appointed by the local secular authorities...
, Berel Lazar
Berel Lazar
Rabbi Shlomo Dovber Pinchas Lazar, better known as Berel Lazar, is an Orthodox, Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic rabbi. He is presently Chief Rabbi of Russia, and chairman of the Federation of Jewish Communities...
, said he was sure the masterminds of the terrorist attack would get the punishment they deserved.
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
Council of Europe
The Council of Europe is an international organisation promoting co-operation between all countries of Europe in the areas of legal standards, human rights, democratic development, the rule of law and cultural co-operation...
, and the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
who also condemned the attacks and/or expressed condolences to the victims' families.
Amongst media reactions, there was controversy about how the Russian media handled the reporting in the first hours after the attack. Additionally, the video laying claim to the attack was posted on Youtube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
, where 650,000 viewers saw it. It has since been removed from the site along with other videos of Doku Umarov.
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.
See also
- 2009 Nevsky Express bombing2009 Nevsky Express bombingThe 2009 Nevsky Express bombing occurred on 27 November 2009 when a bomb exploded under a high speed train travelling between the Russian cities of Moscow and Saint Petersburg causing derailment near the town of Bologoye, Tver Oblast , on the Moscow–Saint Petersburg Railway. The derailment occurred...
- 1977 Moscow bombings1977 Moscow bombingsThe 1977 Moscow bombings were a series of bombings in Moscow committed on January 8, 1977. These terrorist attacks claimed seven lives, while thirty-seven people were seriously injured. No one ever claimed responsibility for the bombing, though three members of an Armenian nationalist organization...
- List of terrorist incidents, 2010
- Crisis situations and protests in Europe since 2000Crisis situations and protests in Europe since 2000List of crises situations and major protests in countries of Europe since year 2000.- 2011 :*2011 England riots in August*2011 Kosovo border clashes from July onwards, involving Kosovan Police and KFOR against Kosovan Serb demonstrators*2011 E...
- List of all accidents and terrorist acts in Moscow metro
- Human rights in Chechnya
- War crimes and terrorism in ChechnyaSecond Chechen War crimes and terrorismThe article details notable human rights violations committed by the warring sides of the ongoing second war in Chechnya. Russian officials and Chechen rebels have been regularly and repeatedly accused of committing various war crimes, including kidnapping, torture, murder, hostage taking, looting,...
- War crimes and terrorism in Chechnya
- Islamic terrorism
- Insurgency in the North Caucasus
- List of terrorist incidents involving railway systems
External links
- List of surnames of injured people
- Moscow metro blast: First video of subway explosion
- Inside Story, AlJazeera, English — March 30, 2010
- J. Rogoża, P. Żochowski, Attacks in the Moscow Metro, Centre for Eastern StudiesCentre for Eastern StudiesCentre for Eastern Studies is a Warsaw-based think tank that undertakes independent research on the political, economic and social situation in Central and Eastern Europe, Balkans, Caucasus and Central Asia....