The recent bombing of a train in Russia left 26 dead and 100 injured. The Nevsky Express was travelling between Moscow and St. Petersburg on Friday, the heaviest travel day of the week. Government officials were among those who were killed in the blast. A bomb equivalent to seven kilograms of TNT was used to derail the train.
On Wednesday, Chechen separatist leader Doku Umarov claimed responsibility for the bombing. He said the attack was prepared and carried out on the orders of Emir of Caucasus Emirate, and warned that there would be more and this was just one incident among many that would target key infrastructures across Russia. Umarov is the leader of many separatist cells that are trying to break free from Moscow’s rule. They have pulled off several attacks on law enforcement officials.
This latest attack has brought back memories of bombings in the previous years. In 2003, there was suicide bombing of a train near Chechnya that killed 44 people. Twin bombings of passenger aircrafts took place in 2004, killing more than 80 people. Two planes flew out of Moscow on August 24, 2004. Flight 1303 was reported by witnesses to have blown up; remains of the plane were found on the ground several hours later. Thirty-four passengers and nine crew members died. Shortly after the crash of flight 1303, flight 1047 disappeared from radar screens and crashed. Thirty-eight passengers and eight crew members died. When the remains of the aircrafts were examined, traces of the explosive hexogen were found in both planes. It was later discovered that these planes were blown up by suicide bombers. In 2007, there was another bombing that derailed a train, no one died in this attack, but 27 people were injured.
Chechen rebels are trying to break free from Moscow, and are destroying anything in their way of doing so. There was an anti-terrorism rally in Russia where people were holding signs that read “Terrorists are not People” and “Find and Annihilate.” Rights activists are saying that these attacks are bitter result of brutal counterterrorism campaigns by Russian authorities. One of these groups based in Moscow accuse the Russian authorities of creating a "policy of state terror." They say that the government security services have increased the use of kidnappings, killings, and home burnings of those they suspect to be militants along with members of their family.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/europe/2009/11/20091128131222771215.html
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gn3is5E-dUPzWK3d_N1sKiCW4fpAD9CB7G380
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2004_Russian_aircraft_bombings
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091202/ap_on_re_eu/eu_russia_train_derailed
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