Deaths in North Caucasus blasts Wednesday, March 31, 2010 12:34 Mecca time, 09:34 GMT
At least 12 people have been killed and another 18 injured in two bomb blasts in Russia's volatile North Caucasus region, two days after a deadly attack on Moscow's transport network.
The first blast occurred in the town of Kizlyar in the southern province of Dagestan on Wednesday morning, when car bomb near a school was detonated, killing two police officers.
Rashid Nurgaliyev, Russia's interior minister, said the bomb went off as police tried to stop the suspicious-looking car.
He said as police and residents gathered at the scene of the blast a suicide bomber, wearing a police uniform, approached and detonated a set of explosives.
A high proportion of those killed were policemen, authorities said, including the town's police chief.
The blasts come just two days after twin suicide bomb attacks in Moscow's metro system killed 39 people and injured scores.
Russian officials have blamed Muslim separatist fighters from the North Caucasus for those attacks.
Volatile region
The North Caucasus has been the site of two wars in Chechnya and hundreds of violent attacks since the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union.
Violence has spread from Chechnya to the neighbouring regions of Dagestan and Ingushetia.
In February, Doku Umarov, the leader of a Chechen opposition group, said in an interview on a separatist- affiliated website that "the zone of military operations will be extended to the territory of Russia".
Umarov, who claimed responsibility for the bombing of a passenger train travelling between Moscow and St Petersburg in November, warned that "the war is coming to their cities".
Monday's attack - the deadliest in the Russian capital in six years - has fuelled fears of a broader offensive by separatists based in the North Caucasus.
Vladimir Putin, Russia's prime minister who led Moscow into a war against Chechen separatists in 1999, said on Tuesday that those behind the bombings must be scraped "from the bottom of the sewers" and exposed.
Father recognizes Moscow suicide bomber as his studious daughter 5/04/2010 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Insert: Violence has spread from Chechnya to the neighbouring regions of Dagestan and Ingushetia. http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=48449110&txt2find=dagestan ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A resident of Dagestan has claimed that he recognizes one of the women who carried out the terrorist attacks on the Moscow metro as his daughter Mariam Sharipova, the Moscow weekly Novaya Gazeta reported.
On Monday, March 29, twin blasts at the Lubyanka and Park Kultury stations occurred during the morning rush hour, leaving 40 people dead and dozens injured.
Rasul Magomedov said that a friend sent him a photo published on the Internet of the suicide bomber, allegedly responsible for the attack at Lubyanka metro station, with the words "she was on the metro."
"My wife and I recognized our daughter immediately," Magomedov said, adding that he and his wife had not known where their daughter was for several days.
"Last time my wife saw our daughter, she was wearing the same red headscarf as in the photo."
Magomedov gave a statement at the local prosecutor's office as soon as it opened on Saturday morning. Several others, including civil servants, told Novaya Gazeta that it was definitely Mariam in the photo.
Mariam was born in 1982 in Balakhan, a villiage in the Untsukul region of Dagestan. Her parents were both teachers at the local school. She studied math and psychology and graduated with distinction in 2005, before returning to Balakhan to teach computer science at the local school.
"We still can't believe it. We can't even work out what she was doing in Moscow," said Magomedov.
"She was devout, but she never expressed any radical opinions. She always lived at home; we always knew what she was up to."
On March 4, the Russian security services informed Magomedov that his daughter was married to the terrorist leader Magomedali Vagabov.
"I asked my daughter if it was true but she said she didn't have any connections with the underground resistance and would never marry without my consent."
The family was already under police observation in connection with one of Mariam's brothers. In May 2008, Ilyas Sharipov was arrested on suspicion of possessing grenades, then later for abduction and illegally producing arms. According to Ilyas's parents, he was subjected to psychological pressure and tortured during an eight-month investigation. No evidence was found and Ilyas was freed from charges.
The suicide bomber who set off the second bomb at Park Kultury metro station has already been identified as Dzhanet Abdurakhmanova (Abdulayeva), born in 1992 in Khasavyurt, which lies to the North of Balakhan in Dagestan.
According to Russian media, Abdurakhmanova was the widow of Dagestani militant Umalat Magomedov (Al-Bar), who was killed during a special law-enforcement operation on December 31, 2009, after he shot at police who were attempting to search a car he was traveling in.
Investigations into Mariam's involvement in the terrorist attack at Lublyanka are currently underway. If Mariam is confirmed as the attacker, the theory that the two suicide bombers traveled to Moscow by bus from Kizlyar will be called into question. The bus ride from Kizlyar to Moscow takes 36 hours and Mariam was with her parents in Dagestan during the day on March 28.
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