Scammer
Banned
[video]http://cnn.com/video/?/video/bestoftv/2011/01/24/exp.tsr.russia.airport.bomb.cnn[/video]
-- Who are the usual suspects in the bombings?
Islamist extremists from the Northern Caucasus region of Russia are almost always suspected in bombings that happen in Russia.
The area they come from, located in the country's mountainous south, includes Chechnya -- home to an insurgent movement carrying out attacks locally and throughout Russia, such as: the hospital hostage crisis in Budyonnovsk in 1995, the siege of a Moscow theater in 2002, the bombing of a Moscow rock concert in 2003, the siege of a school in Beslan in 2004, several bombings in the Moscow metro, and the in-flight suicide bombings of two Russian aircraft in 2004.
Why is Chechnya a problem for Russia?
Russia's history with the Northern Caucasus region goes back to czarist days. Conquered by the Russian empire, it is a fiercely independent area. It is primarily Muslim and ethnically diverse.
When the Soviet Union fell apart in 1991, Chechnya declared independence. In the First Chechen War, which lasted from 1994 to 1996, Russian troops tried to wrest it back but were unsuccessful and the region was out of Moscow's direct control.
The Second Chechen War began in 1999, and this time Russian forces succeeded in subduing the rebels. But violence continued, along with kidnapping, murder and human rights abuses.
Violence in the region surged again in 2009, with insurgents killing hundreds of government officials and civilians.
Is there some al Qaeda connection?
This is the subject of major debate. The Russian government and security services say there is a direct connection between al Qaeda and the insurgents, and they call the insurgents "terrorists."
Some western security officials have been reluctant to make as direct a link but have designated individual insurgents as terrorists, most recently Doku Umarov, leader of the Chechen insurgency, who has acknowledged involvement the 2009 Nevsky Express train derailment that killed 28 people, and the 2010 Moscow subway bombings, which killed 40.
The U.S. State Department last June designated Umarov as a terrorist who threatens both Russia and the United States.
The insurgents are not a cohesive group. Their operations have spread from Chechnya to neighboring Russian republics like Dagestan, Ingushetia and Kabardino-Balkaria.
Terror groups in a number of countries have found inspiration for their cause in Chechnya, citing Moscow's brutal suppression of the rebel movement there and the quest by leaders like Umarov to create a sharia law-based emirate in the Northern Caucasus. Some international terrorists have traveled to Chechnya as volunteers in the fight for global jihad. Chechen fighters have gone to other countries and conflict zones to fight with Islamic insurgent movements.
How did Chechnya's attempts at independence fare?
Chechnya never succeeded in breaking away from Russia. It is a republic of the Russian Federation, with a president, Ramzan Kadyrov, son of the assassinated former president, Akhmad Kadyrov.
Ramzan Kadyrov, a former warlord, has managed to bring some stability to Chechnya. He rebuilt the capital, Grozny, but he has been accused by numerous human rights groups of widespread torture, murder and other violations of rights -- charges which he denies.
-- Who are the usual suspects in the bombings?
Islamist extremists from the Northern Caucasus region of Russia are almost always suspected in bombings that happen in Russia.
The area they come from, located in the country's mountainous south, includes Chechnya -- home to an insurgent movement carrying out attacks locally and throughout Russia, such as: the hospital hostage crisis in Budyonnovsk in 1995, the siege of a Moscow theater in 2002, the bombing of a Moscow rock concert in 2003, the siege of a school in Beslan in 2004, several bombings in the Moscow metro, and the in-flight suicide bombings of two Russian aircraft in 2004.
Why is Chechnya a problem for Russia?
Russia's history with the Northern Caucasus region goes back to czarist days. Conquered by the Russian empire, it is a fiercely independent area. It is primarily Muslim and ethnically diverse.
When the Soviet Union fell apart in 1991, Chechnya declared independence. In the First Chechen War, which lasted from 1994 to 1996, Russian troops tried to wrest it back but were unsuccessful and the region was out of Moscow's direct control.
The Second Chechen War began in 1999, and this time Russian forces succeeded in subduing the rebels. But violence continued, along with kidnapping, murder and human rights abuses.
Violence in the region surged again in 2009, with insurgents killing hundreds of government officials and civilians.
Is there some al Qaeda connection?
This is the subject of major debate. The Russian government and security services say there is a direct connection between al Qaeda and the insurgents, and they call the insurgents "terrorists."
Some western security officials have been reluctant to make as direct a link but have designated individual insurgents as terrorists, most recently Doku Umarov, leader of the Chechen insurgency, who has acknowledged involvement the 2009 Nevsky Express train derailment that killed 28 people, and the 2010 Moscow subway bombings, which killed 40.
The U.S. State Department last June designated Umarov as a terrorist who threatens both Russia and the United States.
The insurgents are not a cohesive group. Their operations have spread from Chechnya to neighboring Russian republics like Dagestan, Ingushetia and Kabardino-Balkaria.
Terror groups in a number of countries have found inspiration for their cause in Chechnya, citing Moscow's brutal suppression of the rebel movement there and the quest by leaders like Umarov to create a sharia law-based emirate in the Northern Caucasus. Some international terrorists have traveled to Chechnya as volunteers in the fight for global jihad. Chechen fighters have gone to other countries and conflict zones to fight with Islamic insurgent movements.
How did Chechnya's attempts at independence fare?
Chechnya never succeeded in breaking away from Russia. It is a republic of the Russian Federation, with a president, Ramzan Kadyrov, son of the assassinated former president, Akhmad Kadyrov.
Ramzan Kadyrov, a former warlord, has managed to bring some stability to Chechnya. He rebuilt the capital, Grozny, but he has been accused by numerous human rights groups of widespread torture, murder and other violations of rights -- charges which he denies.
