This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/05/world/europe/grozny-chechnya-attack.html
The article has changed 11 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 7 | Version 8 |
|---|---|
| Islamic Militants Wage Fierce Attack on Grozny, Chechnya’s Capital | Islamic Militants Wage Fierce Attack on Grozny, Chechnya’s Capital |
| (34 minutes later) | |
| GROZNY, Chechnya — A fierce gun battle between Islamist militants and government security forces paralyzed the center of the Chechen capital, Grozny, overnight Thursday, leaving some 19 people dead and embarrassing President Vladimir V. Putin just hours before he delivered his state-of-the-nation speech in Moscow. | |
| It was the most violent, brazen attack linked to militant activity in the region in months. As dawn broke, smoke was rising from several locations, residents said in telephone interviews. Kheda Saratova, a human-rights activist, said that gunfire continued through the morning. | |
| There was some speculation among analysts and on social media that the assault was carried out by fighters linked to the Islamic State or other radical groups fighting in Syria. If so, it would be the first such attack inside Russia. | |
| Chechen fighters in Syria have threatened to carry out attacks in response to Moscow’s unalloyed support for the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad. | |
| Ramzan A. Kadyrov, the Kremlin ally who runs Chechnya, sought to play down the violence, attending Mr. Putin’s speech in Moscow and claiming that the reconstruction of the damaged buildings had already begun. | Ramzan A. Kadyrov, the Kremlin ally who runs Chechnya, sought to play down the violence, attending Mr. Putin’s speech in Moscow and claiming that the reconstruction of the damaged buildings had already begun. |
| “When this all started,” Mr. Kadyrov told reporters at the Kremlin, “I flew home, organized a special operation, killed the devils, held a meeting, gathered the staff needed to restore the damaged building and made it back in time to listen to the address of our national leader.” He was seen during the speech checking his telephone intently. | “When this all started,” Mr. Kadyrov told reporters at the Kremlin, “I flew home, organized a special operation, killed the devils, held a meeting, gathered the staff needed to restore the damaged building and made it back in time to listen to the address of our national leader.” He was seen during the speech checking his telephone intently. |
| Mr. Putin also made a passing reference to the attack, first suggesting that the West was behind the long history of terrorist insurgency in the restive Caucasus Mountains because it wanted to break up Russia, just as it had Yugoslavia. | Mr. Putin also made a passing reference to the attack, first suggesting that the West was behind the long history of terrorist insurgency in the restive Caucasus Mountains because it wanted to break up Russia, just as it had Yugoslavia. |
| “Now these ‘rebels’ showed themselves again in Chechnya,” Mr. Putin said. “I am sure the local guys, local law enforcement bodies, will cope with it properly. They are working now to liquidate a new terrorist raid.” | |
| In a further attempt to reassure the public, state television showed Mr. Putin in his office meeting with Mr. Kadyrov. The Chechen leader assured the president that Grozny was under control, describing the operations there, while Mr. Putin instructed that the families of the dead government troops should be comforted. | In a further attempt to reassure the public, state television showed Mr. Putin in his office meeting with Mr. Kadyrov. The Chechen leader assured the president that Grozny was under control, describing the operations there, while Mr. Putin instructed that the families of the dead government troops should be comforted. |
| Mr. Putin cemented his popularity after first assuming power in 2000 by ending a protracted war in Chechnya. Mr. Kadyrov, while often accused of human rights violations, pushed the militants out of Chechnya itself into neighboring republics, where the level of attacks rose. Chechnya has remained relatively calm. | Mr. Putin cemented his popularity after first assuming power in 2000 by ending a protracted war in Chechnya. Mr. Kadyrov, while often accused of human rights violations, pushed the militants out of Chechnya itself into neighboring republics, where the level of attacks rose. Chechnya has remained relatively calm. |
| Both the attack and the brewing economic crisis seemed to raise simultaneous questions about the signature achievements of Mr. Putin’s presidency: ending the Chechen war and obtaining unprecedented prosperity for many Russians. | Both the attack and the brewing economic crisis seemed to raise simultaneous questions about the signature achievements of Mr. Putin’s presidency: ending the Chechen war and obtaining unprecedented prosperity for many Russians. |
| Most of the violence in the Caucasus goes unnoticed because it takes place outside major urban centers. But Caucasian Knot, an authoritative website that tracks events in the region, said that 290 people had been killed and 144 wounded in fighting scattered through the Caucasus this year through the end of November. | Most of the violence in the Caucasus goes unnoticed because it takes place outside major urban centers. But Caucasian Knot, an authoritative website that tracks events in the region, said that 290 people had been killed and 144 wounded in fighting scattered through the Caucasus this year through the end of November. |
| Thursday’s attack was the third major assault this year, it said, following a suicide bombing in Grozny on Oct. 5 that killed five people and the destruction of a government armored personnel carrier by a land mine in April in which four soldiers were killed and seven wounded. | Thursday’s attack was the third major assault this year, it said, following a suicide bombing in Grozny on Oct. 5 that killed five people and the destruction of a government armored personnel carrier by a land mine in April in which four soldiers were killed and seven wounded. |
| On Thursday, militants traveling in three cars infiltrated the capital around 1 a.m., killing three traffic police officers at a checkpoint and then occupying the 10-story House of Publishing at the center of the city, according to a statement by the National Antiterrorist Committee. Six of the gunmen were killed by security officers inside the building, which was gutted by fire that spread to a nearby market, it said. | On Thursday, militants traveling in three cars infiltrated the capital around 1 a.m., killing three traffic police officers at a checkpoint and then occupying the 10-story House of Publishing at the center of the city, according to a statement by the National Antiterrorist Committee. Six of the gunmen were killed by security officers inside the building, which was gutted by fire that spread to a nearby market, it said. |
| The rest of the attackers were found near the House of Publishing in School No. 20, where fighting continued into Thursday, the statement said. Neither teachers nor students were at the school when it was seized, according to Russian news reports. | The rest of the attackers were found near the House of Publishing in School No. 20, where fighting continued into Thursday, the statement said. Neither teachers nor students were at the school when it was seized, according to Russian news reports. |
| Ten police officers and nine militants were killed, Russian and Chechen government officials said. Another 28 police officers were injured, Andrey Chatsky, a spokesman for the antiterrorist committee, said in a statement broadcast on Russian television that also confirmed the police death toll. | Ten police officers and nine militants were killed, Russian and Chechen government officials said. Another 28 police officers were injured, Andrey Chatsky, a spokesman for the antiterrorist committee, said in a statement broadcast on Russian television that also confirmed the police death toll. |
| Law enforcement agents eliminated at least nine militants, Mr. Kadyrov said in a statement posted on his website, noting, “We have the corpses.” He said the antiterrorist operation was over. He did not mention civilian casualties, and the Interior Ministry for the Chechen Republic did not answer telephone calls on Thursday evening. | Law enforcement agents eliminated at least nine militants, Mr. Kadyrov said in a statement posted on his website, noting, “We have the corpses.” He said the antiterrorist operation was over. He did not mention civilian casualties, and the Interior Ministry for the Chechen Republic did not answer telephone calls on Thursday evening. |
| The Interfax news agency quoted Mr. Kadyrov as saying that civilian victims of the violence would be compensated. As the fighting continued early Thursday, he used social media accounts to advise downtown residents to remain at home and away from windows. | The Interfax news agency quoted Mr. Kadyrov as saying that civilian victims of the violence would be compensated. As the fighting continued early Thursday, he used social media accounts to advise downtown residents to remain at home and away from windows. |
| There was little news of the attack on Russian state television before Mr. Putin’s speech, but once he mentioned it the clashes received wider coverage. Video footage was shown of security officers blasting the three-story school with grenade launchers and automatic weapons fire. | There was little news of the attack on Russian state television before Mr. Putin’s speech, but once he mentioned it the clashes received wider coverage. Video footage was shown of security officers blasting the three-story school with grenade launchers and automatic weapons fire. |
| Mr. Kadyrov suggested that the militants were connected to Doku Umarov, the longtime leader of the Chechen militants who was killed last year. Attacks the group threatened against the Sochi Olympics last February never materialized. | Mr. Kadyrov suggested that the militants were connected to Doku Umarov, the longtime leader of the Chechen militants who was killed last year. Attacks the group threatened against the Sochi Olympics last February never materialized. |
| 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, on Dec. 11. | |
| “This could be a symbolic attack to show they can still organize something significant,” said Varvara Pakhomenko, an independent analyst of the region, referring to the Islamic militants. “They need new supporters and new fighters.” | “This could be a symbolic attack to show they can still organize something significant,” said Varvara Pakhomenko, an independent analyst of the region, referring to the Islamic militants. “They need new supporters and new fighters.” |
| Dmitry Trenin, the head of the Carnegie Moscow Center, said in a Twitter post, “The night attack in Grozny looks senseless, except as an attempt to embarrass Putin hours before his annual address to parliament.” He and others speculated that it might be the handiwork of the Islamic State. | Dmitry Trenin, the head of the Carnegie Moscow Center, said in a Twitter post, “The night attack in Grozny looks senseless, except as an attempt to embarrass Putin hours before his annual address to parliament.” He and others speculated that it might be the handiwork of the Islamic State. |
| The new leader of the Caucasus Emirate, Aliaskhab Kebekov, has not publicly sworn allegiance to the Islamic State. Yet, many Muslims from Chechnya and Dagestan, another republic in southern Russia, have gone to Syria to join the fight against President Assad. | |
| Videos and news reports that have emerged since August cite “Omar the Chechen,” the pseudonym for Tarkhan Batirashvili, a senior Islamic State commander from the Caucasus, as telling his father that Russia was the next target after Iraq. | Videos and news reports that have emerged since August cite “Omar the Chechen,” the pseudonym for Tarkhan Batirashvili, a senior Islamic State commander from the Caucasus, as telling his father that Russia was the next target after Iraq. |
| “He said, ‘Don’t worry, Dad, I’ll come home and show the Russians,’ ” Temur Batirashvili, the militant’s father, told Bloomberg News from his home in Georgia’s Pankisi Gorge, on the Chechen border. “I have many thousands following me now and I’ll get more. We’ll have our revenge against Russia.” | “He said, ‘Don’t worry, Dad, I’ll come home and show the Russians,’ ” Temur Batirashvili, the militant’s father, told Bloomberg News from his home in Georgia’s Pankisi Gorge, on the Chechen border. “I have many thousands following me now and I’ll get more. We’ll have our revenge against Russia.” |
| In one online video, an unidentified fighter sitting in a mud-spattered sedan says he would like to “convey a message to Putin.” | In one online video, an unidentified fighter sitting in a mud-spattered sedan says he would like to “convey a message to Putin.” |
| “These are the Russian planes that you sent to Bashar,” the man says, referring to President Assad. “Allah willing, we will take them back to your own turf and liberate Chechnya and the Caucasus.” | “These are the Russian planes that you sent to Bashar,” the man says, referring to President Assad. “Allah willing, we will take them back to your own turf and liberate Chechnya and the Caucasus.” |
| “The Islamic State is here to stay,” he said. “Your throne is being threatened by us.” | “The Islamic State is here to stay,” he said. “Your throne is being threatened by us.” |