2009 Nazran bombing

2009 Nazran bombing

A map of Russia, showing the Republic of Ingushetia (highlighted)
Location Nazran, Ingushetia (Russia)
Date August 17, 2009
9:08 (UTC+3)
Target Police station
Attack type
 Suicide attack
Deaths 25[1]
Non-fatal injuries
 164
Perpetrators Caucasus Emirate[2]

The 2009 Nazran bombing occurred on 17 August 2009, when a suicide car bomber attacked police headquarters in Nazran, the largest city of the Republic of Ingushetia. At least 25 people were killed and 164 injured. It was the most serious terrorist attack in Ingushetia in recent years.

Attack

At 9:08 a.m.(MSK) on 17 August 2009, an unidentified militant drove a GAZelle truck[3] into the gates of a police headquarters building in Nazran, Ingushetia's largest city.[4] The attack occurred as police officers were lining up nearby for a morning briefing.[5] Policemen fired at the car, but were unable to stop it.[6] The blast, which reportedly had the force of 400 kg of dynamite,[7] created a crater 4 metres (13 ft) wide and 2 metres (6.6 ft) deep, damaged the police headquarters building and nearby apartments.[3] It also caused ammunition stored in the police headquarters to explode. Twenty people were reported to have been killed and 138 were injured.[4] The toll later rose to 25 killed and 164 wounded,[8] with 15 of the dead being Russian policemen and 10 being Ingush.[9]

According to the Republic's Deputy Interior Minister Zyaudin Dourbekov, police had received information on August 15 that a vehicle of this type was going to be used in a suicide bombing, but were unable to prevent the attack.[5]

Aftermath

The Ingush authorities announced a three-day mourning period and promised to pay 100,000 rubles ($3,000 USD) and 50,000 rubles ($1,500 USD) in compensation to the families of those killed or injured.[4] Russia's Ministry of Emergency Situations dispatched a plane to Ingushetia carrying medical specialists and aid for the victims.[4] Following the attack, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev sacked Ingush Interior Minister Ruslan Meiriyev, saying that the attack could have been prevented.[6] "This is the outcome not only of the problems related to terrorist attacks, but also of the republic law enforcement agencies' unsatisfactory work," Medvedev said.[10] German Chancellor Angela Merkel offered condolences to those affected by the attack.[11]

According to Vladimir Markin, a spokesman for the Prosecutor General's Office, the most likely motives for the bombings are revenge for the work carried out by the police against militants or an attempt to destabilize the situation in the region.[12] On 18 August Alexander Bastrykin said that the Federal Security Service (FSB) has received information about the organizers of the attack. He refused to name the suspects at this stage, but said that they belonged to the same groups that had conducted similar attacks in recent years. Bastrykhin assured that the FSB was doing everything it can to solve the crime.[13]

On 21 August, the militant Islamist Caucasus Emirate group claimed responsibility for the attack.[14][2]

On 18 August, President Medvedev put Deputy Interior Minister of Russia, Colonel-General Arkady Yedelev in charge of all security and police operations in Ingushetia.[15] The pro-administration President of Ingushetia, Yunus-bek Yevkurov, who had survived an assassination attempt in June 2009, said the rebels' goal was to "destabilise the situation and spread panic" in Ingushetia and claimed that the West had a hand in the escalation in the North Caucasus with the aim to prevent Russia from reviving "its former Soviet might".[16] On 19 August, President Dmitry Medvedev said that the continuing attacks against Ingush leadership, law enforcement officials and civilians must be dealt with severe punishment. He said that although external factors such as foreign funding for Islamist terrorists are also a concern, for the most part North Caucasus' security problems are the results of internal reasons such as corruption and socio-economic problems. "The roots are in the structure of our life, in unemployment, clans who could not care less about people and whose only concern is to how to divide the money poured in here, to get a contract and to settle scores with one another later, as well as corruption, which has really become very widespread among law enforcement authorities."[17]

Background

In 2009, the violence grew in the North Caucasian republics of Russia[18] and terrorist attacks became more frequent.[19] Although Chechen separatist activity was confirmed to be diminished due to the heavy-handed security measures undertaken by Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov, violence in Chechnya has been replaced by Islamic insurgency in the neighbouring republics, Dagestan and Ingushetia.[19]

After the June attempt on President Yevkurov's life, there had been several incidents just days before the Nazran attack on 17 August.[19] Several other leading Ingush officials have been assassinated since June 2009, including Deputy Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Aza Gazgireeva, former Deputy Prime Minister Bashir Aushev, the head of the Forensics and Investigations Center Magomed Gadaborshev, and Construction Minister Ruslan Amerkhanov.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Investigators Seek Ingush Blast Plotters. The Moscow Times Issue 4214. 20 August 2009 Archived August 22, 2009, at the Wayback Machine.
  2. 1 2 "Suicide Bombings Part of Tactical Shift by North Caucasus Rebels". Jamestown Foundation. 2009-09-17. Retrieved 2015-07-12.
  3. 1 2 Michael Schwirtz (August 17, 2009). "Suicide Bomber Rams Truck Into Police Station in Russia, Killing 20". New York Times. Retrieved 2009-08-18.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "At least 20 dead, 138 wounded in south Russia bomb attack". RIA Novosti. 2009-08-17. Retrieved 2009-08-17.
  5. 1 2 Abdullaev, Nabi (2009-08-17). "Ingush Police Got Tip About Deadly Blast". The Moscow Times. Retrieved 2009-08-17.
  6. 1 2 "Many killed in Russia bomb attack". BBC News. 2009-08-17. Retrieved 2009-08-17.
  7. ↑ "Medvedev urges swift action on bomb attack in S. Russia". RIA Novosti. 2009-08-18. Retrieved 2009-08-19.
  8. ↑ Death toll reaches 25 in bomb blast in Nazran – vice-pm Archived August 22, 2009, at the Wayback Machine. - ITAR-TASS. Accessed 2009-08-28. Archived 2009-09-07.
  9. ↑ Eurasia Daily Monitor, The Jamestown Foundation — August 19, 2009—Volume 6, Issue 160
  10. ↑ Stack, Megan (2009-08-17). "Bombing kills 20 in Russian republic of Ingushetia". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2009-08-17.
  11. ↑ "Merkel offers condolences over Monday's tragedies in Russia". RIA Novosti. 2009-08-17. Retrieved 2009-08-17.
  12. ↑ "Large blast hits Southern Russia". Russia Today. 2009-08-17. Retrieved 2009-08-17.
  13. ↑ "Russia's FSB has leads on who was behind Ingushetia bomb attack". RIA Novosti. 2009-08-18. Retrieved 2009-08-19.
  14. ↑ "Ingushetia's president returns to south Russian republic". RIA Novosti. 2009-08-22. Retrieved 2009-08-22.
  15. ↑ Kremlin sends tough general to troubled Ingushetia. Reuters. August 18, 2009
  16. ↑ Caucasus suicide blast kills 20. The Financial Times. August 18, 2009
  17. ↑ "Terrorists must be dealt with "unceremoniously" - Medvedev (Part 2)". ITAR-TASS. 2009-08-18. Archived from the original on August 19, 2009. Retrieved 2009-08-19.
  18. ↑ Urgent Need for Vigorous Monitoring in the North Caucasus. Human Rights Watch/Reuters, April 15, 2008.
  19. 1 2 3 Oliphant, Roland. "Welcome Back to Arms". Russia Profile. Retrieved 2009-08-17.

Coordinates: 43°13′00″N 44°46′00″E / 43.2167°N 44.7667°E / 43.2167; 44.7667

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