Guerrilla phase of the Second Chechen War (2005)
Encyclopedia
January
- January 2 - A three-day battle on a mountain near GimryGimryGimry is a village in Untsukulsky District of the Republic of Dagestan, Russia. It is located in the mountain where Imam Shamil, the third Imam of Dagestan, was born.-History:...
in DagestanDagestanThe Republic of Dagestan is a federal subject of Russia, located in the North Caucasus region. Its capital and the largest city is Makhachkala, located at the center of Dagestan on the Caspian Sea...
between some 3,000 Russian troops and a group of estimated eight armed rebels left three servicemen dead and more than 10 wounded, with no rebel losses.
- January 5 - A series of incidents over the previous two days killed 14 Russian soldiers and three policemen and wounded 15 others in ChechnyaChechnyaThe 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...
.http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2005/01/af2108f8-9dde-4631-b2c7-354cac3e4f46.html
- January 8 - Four to five rebels were killed when the federal and republican forces stormed and destroyed a building in NazranNazranNazran is a town in the Republic of Ingushetia, Russia. It served as the republic's capital in 1991–2000, until the town of Magas was specially built as the new capital. Nazran is the largest city of the republic: -General:...
, IngushetiaIngushetiaThe Republic of Ingushetia is a federal subject of Russia , located in the North Caucasus region with its capital at Magas. In terms of area, the republic is the smallest of Russia's federal subjects except for the two federal cities, Moscow and Saint Petersburg...
.http://www.watchdog.cz/index.php?show=000000-000005-000001-000179-000016&lang=1
- January 15 - Four Russian commandos and six rebels were killed in a siege and police raid in DagestanJanuary 15 2005 sieges in DagestanJanuary 15 2005 sieges were two raids of the Russian security forces on a militant Islamist group's safehouses in Dagestan. At least four Russian commandos and six rebels died in the clashes, while one was captured...
; two people were wounded and one militant captured. Chechen rebel leader Aslan MaskhadovAslan MaskhadovAslan Aliyevich Maskhadov was a leader of the Chechen separatist movement and the third President of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria.He was credited by many with the Chechen victory in the First Chechen War, which allowed for the...
issued a special order to stop all offensive operations both inside and outside Chechnya until the end of February as a gesture of goodwill.
- January 25 - Seven Russian soldiers were killed and 11 wounded in attacks and explosions across Chechnya.
- January 27 - Seven people, including three women, died in the shoot-out between the Russian security forces and suspected Islamic militants in NalchikNalchikNalchik is the capital city of the Kabardino-Balkar Republic, Russia, situated at an altitude of in the foothills of the Caucasus Mountains; about northwest of Beslan in the Republic of North Ossetia–Alania. It covers an area of...
, Kabardino-BalkariaKabardino-BalkariaThe Kabardino-Balkar Republic , or Kabardino-Balkaria , is a federal subject of Russia located in the North Caucasus. Population: -Geography:The republic is situated in the North Caucasus mountains, with plains in the northern part....
. Russian military spokesman said that a "terrorist base" was destroyed and six militants, including two "Arab mercenaries," were killed in southeastern Chechnya. A local rebel leader was also killed in GroznyGroznyGrozny is the capital city of the Chechen Republic, Russia. The city lies on the Sunzha River. According to the preliminary results of the 2010 Census, the city had a population of 271,596; up from 210,720 recorded in the 2002 Census. but still only about two-thirds of 399,688 recorded in the 1989...
, while another militant was captured.
- January 29 - Nine Chechen presidential guards or Russian federal troops (conflicting reports) were killed by a series of remote-controlled landmine explosions on the Caucasus federal highwayHighwayA highway is any public road. In American English, the term is common and almost always designates major roads. In British English, the term designates any road open to the public. Any interconnected set of highways can be variously referred to as a "highway system", a "highway network", or a...
near the villages of Alkhan-Kala.
February
- February 1 - Three Russian servicemen were killed and one wounded in an attack near on a mountain road near the village of Gorgachi, while two militants were killed in Grozny.
- February 2 - The rebels ambushed motorcade of Major-General Magomed OmarovMagomed OmarovMagomed Omarov was the deputy Interior Minister for the Russian republic of Dagestan. He was assassinated by gunmen a month after the government announced they prevented a "terrorist attack." Omarov had coordinated all major anti-insurgent operations in the republic and had narrowly escaped...
, Dagestan's deputy Interior MinisterInterior ministerAn interior ministry is a government ministry typically responsible for policing, national security, and immigration matters. The ministry is often headed by a minister of the interior or minister of home affairs...
, and killed him in the shoot-out in capital MakhachkalaMakhachkala-Twin towns/sister cities:Makhachkala is twinned with: Sfax, Tunisia Siping, China Spokane, United States Vladikavkaz, Russia Yalova, Turkey Ndola, Zambia-See also:*...
.
- February 19 - A spokesman for the Russian Army said Yunadi Turchayev, the alleged amir of Grozny responsible for operations in and around the Chechen capital, and an unspecified number of his men were killed in a shootout in Grozny.
- February 20 - Three guerrillas were killed and five suspects detained during a two-day operation by security forces in an apartment building in Nalchik, Kabardino-Balkaria.http://www.watchdog.cz/index.php?show=000000-000005-000001-000179-000017&lang=1
- February 21 - Nine Russian reconnaissanceReconnaissanceReconnaissance is the military term for exploring beyond the area occupied by friendly forces to gain information about enemy forces or features of the environment....
soldiers were killed in a blast in the village of Prigorodnoye on the outskirts of Grozny. While official sources attributed the incident to a battle with Chechen guerrillas, who at the time announced a unilateral ceasefire, Russian newspaper Novaya GazetaNovaya GazetaNovaya Gazeta is a Russian newspaper well known in the country for its critical and investigative coverage of Russian political and social affairs....
wrote that some of the soldiers were drunk and one of them fired a grenade launcher in an abandoned factory.
March
- March 8 - Chechen separatist PresidentPresident of IchkeriaThis is a list of Presidents of the unrecognised Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, a pro-independence movement that controlled most of Chechnya from 1991 to 1999...
Aslan Maskhadov was killed and several of his associates captured in Tolstoy-Yurt.
- March 10 - A Mi-8Mil Mi-8The Mil Mi-8 is a medium twin-turbine transport helicopter that can also act as a gunship. The Mi-8 is the world's most-produced helicopter, and is used by over 50 countries. Russia is the largest operator of the Mi-8/Mi-17 helicopter....
helicopter belonging to the FSB was brought down by gunfire killing 15 servicemen, including spetsnaz operatives.
- March 13 - Reported death of Khanpasha Movsarov, alleged imamImamAn imam is an Islamic leadership position, often the worship leader of a mosque and the Muslim community. Similar to spiritual leaders, the imam is the one who leads Islamic worship services. More often, the community turns to the mosque imam if they have a religious question...
of the militant group in Grozny and coordinator of rebel operations in the capital.
- March 22 - A Mi-8 helicopter of the Russian Interior Ministry crashed near the village of Oktyabrskoye. Two people died in the hospital, according to Russian sources.http://www.watchdog.cz/index.php?show=000000-000005-000001-000179-000018&lang=1
- March 23 - Chechen rebel field commander Rizvan ChitigovRizvan ChitigovRizvan Chitigov was a prominent Chechen rebel field commander in Shalinsky District of the Chechen Republic until his death in March 2005....
was killed by Chechen police forces in Shalinsky DistrictShalinsky District, Chechen RepublicShalinsky District is an administrative and municipal district , one of the fifteen in the Chechen Republic, Russia. Its administrative center is the town of Shali...
. On the same day, police Lieutenant-Colonel Movsredin Kantayev, the head of an operational-investigative bureau of the Russian Interior Ministry, was found shot dead near the village of Petropavlovskaya.
April
- April 5 - Two guerrillas and a small child were killed in an operation carried out by Dagestani and Chechen security forces in the Dagestani town of KhasavyurtKhasavyurtKhasavyurt is a city in the Republic of Dagestan, Russia. Population: It was founded in 1846 and granted town status in 1931. The main local industries are food processing, brick making and garment making....
.http://www.watchdog.cz/index.php?show=000000-000005-000001-000179-000019&lang=1
- April 15 - A fierce skirmish took place between Chechen guerrillas and Russian elite forces in Grozny's Leninsky city district. Reportedly six Chechen fighters from Doku Umarov's group were killed, while five spetsnazSpetsnazSpetsnaz, Specnaz tr: Voyska specialnogo naznacheniya; ) is an umbrella term for any special forces in Russian, literally "force of special purpose"...
soldiers were killed and two seriously wounded. There were some civilian casualties.
- April 20 - Federal forces and Chechen and Dagestani police conducted a joint operation in the Dagestani village of BatashBatashBatash is a town in eastern Turkmenistan. It is located in Lebap Province.Nearby towns and villages include Amyderya , Sardoba , Khadzhykulluk , Dzhity-Kuduk , Kausy and Yulangyz ..-External links:*...
, killing three alleged guerrillas.
- April 29 - Four guerrillas were killed in a shoot-out in Nalchik, Kabardino-Balkaria.http://www.watchdog.cz/index.php?show=000000-000005-000001-000179-000019&lang=1
May
- May 15 - During a raid in a suburb of Grozny, Russian forces killed four militants, including Vakha ArsanovVakha ArsanovVakha Arsanov was a former vice president in the Aslan Maskhadov's government of Chechen Republic of Ichkeria.-Early life:Vakha Arsanov was born in 1950 in Dagestan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic...
, former vice presidentVice presidentA vice president is an officer in government or business who is below a president in rank. The name comes from the Latin vice meaning 'in place of'. In some countries, the vice president is called the deputy president...
of the Maskhadov's government. Also on same day, the Chechen guerrilla commander Danilbek Eskiyev was killed in the village of Gerzel in Gudermessky District, and six local guerrillas were killed in an overnight police operation in an apartment building in CherkesskCherkesskCherkessk is the capital city of the Karachay-Cherkess Republic, Russia, as well as its political, economic, and cultural center. Population: 121,439 ; 116,244 ; -History:...
, capital of the Karachay-CherkessiaKarachay-CherkessiaThe Karachay-Cherkess Republic , or Karachay-Cherkessia is a federal subject of Russia . Population: -Geography:*Area: *Borders:**internal: Krasnodar Krai , Kabardino-Balkar Republic , Stavropol Krai ....
.http://www.watchdog.cz/index.php?show=000000-000005-000001-000179-000020&lang=1
- May 17 - Senior insurgent leader Alash Daudov and three associates were killed by the FSB spetsnazSpetsnazSpetsnaz, Specnaz tr: Voyska specialnogo naznacheniya; ) is an umbrella term for any special forces in Russian, literally "force of special purpose"...
in Grozny. On the same day the Special Forces also announced the killing of Rasul Tambulatov, militant commander for Chechnya's Shelkovsky District, and the capture of five of his associates who they said were bomb specialists.
- May 23 - Two powerful roadside bombs blasted a column of the MVD troops, wounding 13 servicemen including two top commanders. During a search for the attackers a reconnaissance unit soldier was blown up by a mine in the nearby forest.http://www.jamestown.org/edm/article.php?article_id=2369804
June
- June 9 - Seven policemen from the Russian region of TverTverTver is a city and the administrative center of Tver Oblast, Russia. Population: 403,726 ; 408,903 ;...
deployed in Chechnya were killed when guerrillas ambushed their vehicle on the Kurchaloy-Avtury road.http://www.watchdog.cz/index.php?show=000000-000005-000001-000179-000021&lang=1
- June 28 - Magomedzagid Varisov, a political scientist and journalist, was killed near his home in MakhachkalaMakhachkala-Twin towns/sister cities:Makhachkala is twinned with: Sfax, Tunisia Siping, China Spokane, United States Vladikavkaz, Russia Yalova, Turkey Ndola, Zambia-See also:*...
. He "had received threats, was being followed and had unsuccessfully sought help from the local police" according to Committee to Protect JournalistsCommittee to Protect JournalistsThe Committee to Protect Journalists is an independent nonprofit organisation based in New York City that promotes press freedom and defends the rights of journalists.-History:A group of U.S...
who largely condemned the killing. According to Kavkaz CenterKavkaz CenterThe Kavkaz Center is a privately run website by pro-Chechen which aims to be "a Chechen internet agency which is independent, international and Islamic" that "does not represent the viewpoint of any state structures"...
in July 2005, the Shariat Jamaat claimed responsibility for the killing. Not all observers are convinced that the Jamaat was behind the killing of Varisov as he criticized the local government.
July
- July 1 - Eleven members of the elite Russian MVD RusRus (special forces)Rus was a special forces unit of the Interior Troops , of the interior ministry of the Russian Federation. It was a unit in the Independent Operative Purpose Division .Rus was created on August 1, 1994...
battalionBattalionA battalion is a military unit of around 300–1,200 soldiers usually consisting of between two and seven companies and typically commanded by either a Lieutenant Colonel or a Colonel...
were killed and twenty other wounded in the bomb attack in MakhachkalaMakhachkala Rus bombingMakhachkala Rus bombing was a July 1, 2005 incident in which at least 11 members of the elite Rus unit of the Russian federal Internal Troops were killed and 25 people wounded in the bomb attack outside a public bath in Makhachkala, Dagestan....
, Dagestan.http://www.watchdog.cz/index.php?show=000000-000005-000001-000179-000022&lang=1
- July 4 - an attack by the Chechen rebel fighters armed with assault rifleAssault rifleAn assault rifle is a selective fire rifle that uses an intermediate cartridge and a detachable magazine. Assault rifles are the standard infantry weapons in most modern armies...
s, grenade launcherGrenade launcherA grenade launcher or grenade discharger is a weapon that launches a grenade with more accuracy, higher velocity, and to greater distances than a soldier could throw it by hand....
s and rocket propelled grenadeRocket propelled grenadeA rocket-propelled grenade is a shoulder-fired, anti-tank weapon system which fires rockets equipped with an explosive warhead. These warheads are affixed to a rocket motor and stabilized in flight with fins. Some types of RPG are reloadable while others are single-use. RPGs, with the exception of...
s on a motorized column of the GRUGRUGRU or Glavnoye Razvedyvatel'noye Upravleniye is the foreign military intelligence directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation...
SpetsnazSpetsnazSpetsnaz, Specnaz tr: Voyska specialnogo naznacheniya; ) is an umbrella term for any special forces in Russian, literally "force of special purpose"...
16th Brigade from TambovTambovTambov is a city and the administrative center of Tambov Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Tsna and Studenets Rivers southeast of Moscow...
, composed of several trucks and one armoured personnel carrierArmoured personnel carrierAn armoured personnel carrier is an armoured fighting vehicle designed to transport infantry to the battlefield.APCs are usually armed with only a machine gun although variants carry recoilless rifles, anti-tank guided missiles , or mortars...
killed at least six to seven servicemen and wounding as many as 12 to 20 others, according to the Russian sources.
- July 5 - Six Russian soldiers were killed and at least 10 to 25 others injured when gunmen attacked a military convoy in the Shali district of Chechnya. Pro-rebel web sites claimed more than 20 soldiers were killed.
- July 10 - At least one Interior Ministry serviceman was killed and nine were wounded in a grenade and gun attack on their vehicles in Grozny's Staropromyslovsky district (the rebels had claimed that 15-20 Russian servicemen were killed in the incident). A local policeman was shot dead in the Chechen village of Kargalinskaya.
- July 11 - Sharia Jamaat, the main Dagestani rebel group, confirmed the death of its commander, Rasul MakasharipovRasul MakasharipovRasul Makasharipov nicknamed Muslim and also known as Emir Rasul was a Dagestani Islamist leader in southern Russia...
. 10 policemen were killed and 14 injured in attacks and a mine blast in Chechnya.
- July 16 - A military Mi-8 helicopter crashed in the highland Chechnya, killing eight servicemen.
- July 19 - Eleven policemen, a local FSB agent and three civilians were killed when a booby-trapped police vehicle was blown up in the northwestern Chechen village of Znamenskoye. Nearly thirty others were injured. The initial firefight was designed to draw more policemen to the scene and maximise casualties with an explosion.
August
- August 7 - Nine Russian soldiers were killed and nine more wounded in weekend clashes.
- August 14 - ColonelColonelColonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
Aleksandr Kayak, the commander of the Urus-MartanUrus-MartanUrus-Martan is a town and the administrative center of Urus-Martanovsky District of the Chechen Republic, Russia, located on the Martan River. The town is located in the central part of the republic, to the southwest of the capital Grozny. Population:...
area, his deputy, Lt.-Col. Sergey Donets, and three other soldiers were killed in a land mine explosion, when the Russian troops came to the aid of a local official whose home was under attack.
- August 25 - Dagestani Prime Minister Ibragim Malsagov was wounded in a double bomb attack on his motorcade in Nazran which killed his driver and wounded his bodyguard.
- August 25 - Six Russian soldiers had been killed and six wounded in the attacks and mine blast. Five Chechen policemen were also wounded, and one rebel was killed and another captured.
- August 30 - Three servicemen, including a Russian bomb expert, were killed and seven others wounded in a series of rebel attacks and mine blasts.
September
- September 2 - One killed and nine injured in a bomb attack on the military patrol in Makhachkala, the capital Dagestan.
- September 4 - Russian military said two rebels were killed and three soldiers wounded in a fight in Vedenski District. One servicemen was killed and eight wounded in three clashes in Chechnya. Three rebels were also captured.
- September 7 - Rebel commander Magomed Vagapov and two other guerrillas reportedly killed in Chechnya.http://www.watchdog.cz/index.php?show=000000-000005-000001-000179-000024&lang=1 In Dagestan three police officers were shot dead at a checkpoint on a road leading to Makhachkala.
- September 12 - Akhmed AvtorkhanovAkhmed AvtorkhanovAkhmed Avtorkhanov was a former head of security for Ichkerian President Aslan Maskhadov.Officially the Russian state suggested he was killed by Shamil Basaev in a dispute over money or due to ideology as he opposed the miltant Islam of Basayev and his followers, while the Chechen insurgents claim...
, former head of security for Ichkerian President Aslan Maskhadov, was killed in Chechnya.
- September 14 - Chechen police and guerrillas clashed in the town of ArgunArgun, Chechen RepublicArgun is a town in the Chechen Republic, Russia, located on the Argun River. Population: 22,000 ....
, with several dead on both sides including Shamil Muskiyev, deputy leader of the Chechen resistance. About ten people, mostly officers, were wounded when guerrillas attacked the building of the Interior Ministry of the Chechen Republic in the center of Grozny.http://www.watchdog.cz/index.php?show=000000-000005-000001-000179-000024&lang=1
- September 15 - A gun battle between local and Russian police and Chechen separatists barricadeBarricadeBarricade, from the French barrique , is any object or structure that creates a barrier or obstacle to control, block passage or force the flow of traffic in the desired direction...
d in a building in Argun led to the deaths of five police officers and five rebels. Meanwhile, three other servicemen were killed and six injured in a separate attacks.
- September 17 - Seven policemen were killed and five wounded in Chechnya, five of them in fighting in the villages of Dargo and Tezin-Kala.
- September 18 - According to conflicting reports, one to 11 servicemen were killed and up to 12 others wounded in Chechnya.
- September 20 - Three policemen were shot dead in the village of KarabulakKarabulak, Republic of IngushetiaKarabulak is a town in the Republic of Ingushetia, Russia, located on the Sunzha River , north of the republic's capital Magas. Population: The Cossack stanitsa of Karabulakskaya was founded in the 19th century...
, Ingushetia.http://www.watchdog.cz/index.php?show=000000-000005-000001-000179-000024&lang=1
- September 24 - Six Russian soldiers and one Chechen policeman were killed and 11 others wounded in Chechnya in the previous 24 hours.
- September 26 - Nine Russian soldiers died in Chechnya, mostly fighting militants near the village of Bugovroi.
- September 29 - Two policemen and two children were shot dead in an attack by unknown perpetrators in Grozny. http://www.watchdog.cz/index.php?show=000000-000005-000001-000179-000024&lang=1
October
- October 9 - Chechen guerrilla commander Ruslan Nasipov and one of his men were killed in Grozny. Four guerrillas and two policemen were killed in a clash in Makhachkala, Dagestan, Russian sources reported.http://www.watchdog.cz/index.php?show=000000-000005-000001-000179-000025&lang=1
- October 13 - Large group of mostly-local militants attack Nalchik, the capital of Kabardino-Balkaria. More than 100 people, including at least 14 civilians and 35 policemen, were reported to have been killed and many were wounded.
- October 20 - Unknown militants attempted to assassinate Ibragim Temirbayev, the mayorMayorIn many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
of Argun, injuring four of his bodyguards.http://www.watchdog.cz/index.php?show=000000-000005-000001-000179-000025&lang=1
November
- November 2–4 - Five policemen and a local FSB agent were shot dead in six separate gun attacks in Nazran, Ingushetia.http://www.watchdog.cz/index.php?show=000000-000005-000001-000179-000026&lang=1 Three servicemen were killed and three wounded in Chechnya, while a Chechen rebel was also captured and an alleged Dagestani rebel killed in Khasavyurt.
December
- December 16 - Saudi ArabiaSaudi ArabiaThe Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
-born "Imam of the Chechen mujahideenMujahideenMujahideen are Muslims who struggle in the path of God. The word is from the same Arabic triliteral as jihad .Mujahideen is also transliterated from Arabic as mujahedin, mujahedeen, mudžahedin, mudžahidin, mujahidīn, mujaheddīn and more.-Origin of the concept:The beginnings of Jihad are traced...
" Abu Omar al-SaifAbu Omar al-SaifAbu Omar al-Saif was an informal name or nom de guerre of a Saudi Islamist and fighter operating first in Afghanistan and later in the North Caucasus as the mufti of Arab fighters in Chechnya, allegedly with close ties to al-Qaeda. His full name was Muhammad bin Abdullah bin Saif al-Tamimi...
was announced killed having been in November in Dagestan.