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| Militants Attack Grozny, Chechnya’s Capital, Ending Period of Calm | Militants Attack Grozny, Chechnya’s Capital, Ending Period of Calm |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| MOSCOW — A period of relative stability in largely Muslim regions of southern Russia ended in a convulsion of violence overnight and early Thursday in Grozny, the capital of Chechnya, after militants infiltrated the city, seized buildings and opened fire on the police. | MOSCOW — A period of relative stability in largely Muslim regions of southern Russia ended in a convulsion of violence overnight and early Thursday in Grozny, the capital of Chechnya, after militants infiltrated the city, seized buildings and opened fire on the police. |
| The attack came just hours before President Vladimir V. Putin delivered a state of the nation speech in Moscow, in which he made only a passing reference to the violence, saying Russia was capable of facing the threat from such terrorism. | |
| Violence in the North Caucasus had subsided, but it had never gone away entirely. The Russian state news media reported that the militants seized an office building, which was then recaptured by security forces, and a school, where fighting continued Thursday morning. | |
| Residents of Grozny reached by telephone, however, spoke of a wider list of targets and broader mayhem in the city. | |
| As dawn broke, smoke was rising from several locations, they said. | As dawn broke, smoke was rising from several locations, they said. |
| “Oh God,” one man said in a video posted online, which shows shaky, silhouetted figures of armed men. “Fighters are on the streets.” | “Oh God,” one man said in a video posted online, which shows shaky, silhouetted figures of armed men. “Fighters are on the streets.” |
| Ramzan A. Kadyrov, the president of Chechnya, told the news agency Interfax that the office building, called the House of Publishing and used by newspapers and other media, had been recaptured by morning, and that all militants inside had been killed. | Ramzan A. Kadyrov, the president of Chechnya, told the news agency Interfax that the office building, called the House of Publishing and used by newspapers and other media, had been recaptured by morning, and that all militants inside had been killed. |
| The Interfax report quoted Mr. Kadyrov as saying that civilian victims of the violence would be compensated, without indicating how many had been wounded or killed, or whether the gunmen had taken hostages. | The Interfax report quoted Mr. Kadyrov as saying that civilian victims of the violence would be compensated, without indicating how many had been wounded or killed, or whether the gunmen had taken hostages. |
| Mr. Kadyrov said fighting continued in a nearby school, School No. 20, where militants had holed up overnight. Interfax reported that seven militants had died in the House of Publishing. | Mr. Kadyrov said fighting continued in a nearby school, School No. 20, where militants had holed up overnight. Interfax reported that seven militants had died in the House of Publishing. |
| On his Instagram account, Mr. Kadyrov advised residents of neighborhoods in the center of the city to remain at home and away from windows. | On his Instagram account, Mr. Kadyrov advised residents of neighborhoods in the center of the city to remain at home and away from windows. |
| Residents described explosions from heavy weapons, either tanks or artillery, in several parts of the city. Kheda Saratova, a human rights activist, said in a telephone interview that gunfire broke out around 1 a.m. and continued through the morning. | |
| Varvara Pakhomenko, an independent analyst of the region, said residents were reporting gunfire in many locations. | Varvara Pakhomenko, an independent analyst of the region, said residents were reporting gunfire in many locations. |
| Gunfire had broken out near Rosa Luxemburg Street, a thoroughfare in the city that runs parallel to Vladimir Putin Street, in addition to the House of Publishing and School No. 20, she said. | |
| “This could be a symbolic attack to show they can still organize something significant,” Ms. Pakhomenko said. | “This could be a symbolic attack to show they can still organize something significant,” Ms. Pakhomenko said. |
| “They need new supporters and new fighters, because many people from Dagestan and Chechnya went to Syria,” she continued, referring to another republic in southern Russia. | “They need new supporters and new fighters, because many people from Dagestan and Chechnya went to Syria,” she continued, referring to another republic in southern Russia. |
| Islamic fighters in southern Russia are organized as the Caucasus Emirate, a religiously motivated and pan-Caucasian movement that evolved from the initial Chechen nationalist and secular struggle for independence in the 1990s. Thursday is close to the 20th anniversary of the start of the first Chechen war. | Islamic fighters in southern Russia are organized as the Caucasus Emirate, a religiously motivated and pan-Caucasian movement that evolved from the initial Chechen nationalist and secular struggle for independence in the 1990s. Thursday is close to the 20th anniversary of the start of the first Chechen war. |
| While many Chechens fight alongside the Islamic State, the leader of the militant group Caucasus Emirate, Aliaskhab Kebekov, an ethnic Avar from Dagestan, is not known to have sworn allegiance to the Islamic State. |