Chechnya

Chechnya-based Terrorists

What kind of terrorist groups operate in Chechnya?
Chechen terrorist groups were blamed by Russian officials for a 1999 spree of deadly apartment bombings in Moscow and two other Russian cities that killed nearly 300 people. The conflict in Chechnya—pitting Muslim rebels against the Russian army in a bloody guerrilla war—has also attracted militants from across the Muslim world, including veterans of the 1979-89 war against the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. But detailed information about the activities of international terrorist organizations in Chechnya is hard to come by, experts say.

Who are the Chechens?

Bombed apartment building, Moscow,
Sept. 9, 1999.
(AP Photo/Tatiana Makeyeva )

The Chechens are a fiercely independent, largely Muslim ethnic group that has lived for centuries in the mountainous Caucasus region. During World War II, the Soviet dictator Josef Stalin accused the Chechens of cooperating with the Nazis and forcibly deported the entire population to the Central Asian republic of Kazakhstan. Tens of thousands of Chechens died; only after Stalin’s death in 1953 were the survivors allowed to return home. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Chechen separatists have sought independence from Moscow. Two costly wars have devastated Chechnya, left tens of thousands of Chechens and Russians dead or wounded, and displaced hundreds of thousands of civilians.

What kinds of terrorist acts have Chechen groups committed?
Besides the apartment bombings, high-profile incidents include:

A failed plot to kill Russian President Vladimir Putin during a visit to Azerbaijan in January 2001. Azerbaijani officials said the would-be assassin, an Iraqi, had trained in Afghanistan in the mid-1990s, fought in Chechnya, and had contacts with al-Qaeda associates.

The hijackings of a Turkish ferry in January 1996 and a Russian airliner in Saudi Arabia in March 2001.

The seizure of more than 1,000 hostages by Chechen fighters during a June 1995 attack on a hospital in the southern Russian town of Budyonnovsk.

Russia also blamed Chechen terrorists for the bomb blast that killed at least 41 people, including 17 children, during a military parade in the southwestern town of Kaspiisk in May 2002.

Is there a connection between Chechen terrorist groups and al-Qaeda?
Evidence of a direct Chechen connection to Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaeda terrorist network remains limited; it focuses largely on the reported ties between bin Laden and the Chechen warlord Khattab, a Jordanian-born fighter who apparently first met bin Laden while both men were fighting the 1979-89 Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. The U.S. ambassador to Russia, Alexander Vershbow, said shortly after September 11, “We have long recognized that Osama bin Laden and other international networks have been fueling the flames in Chechnya, including the involvement of foreign commanders like Khattab.” In April 2002, Russian officials said Khattab had been killed in Chechnya.

Beyond the Khattab connection, the Wall Street Journal has reported that Zacarias Moussaoui, whom U.S. authorities have charged with being the “20th hijacker” in the September 11 attacks, was formerly “a recruiter for al-Qaeda-backed rebels in Chechnya.” Several bin Laden associates also reportedly provided financing and training for Chechen fighters during the 1994-96 war. Moreover, the Taliban regime in Afghanistan was one of the only governments to recognize Chechen independence, and some Chechen militants reportedly fought alongside al-Qaeda and Taliban forces against the U.S.-backed Northern Alliance in late 2001.

Are there many foreign extremists in Chechnya?
No. Most experts put the number of foreign militants in Chechnya at approximately 200, out of several thousand fighters.

Who supports Chechnya-based terrorist groups?
Islamist charities such as the Global Relief Foundation—which U.S. officials accuse of being a conduit for terrorist financing—have been active in Chechnya and are reportedly a major source of financial support for Chechen militants. The United States is working with Russia and other countries to staunch the flow of terrorist-related financing, according to Ambassador Vershbow.

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