Chechen Rebels Claim Nevsky Express Bombing

Chechen rebels have claimed responsibility for a bombing that killed at least 26 people traveling on a train from Moscow to St. Petersburg, rebel web site Kavkaz Center said Wednesday. The attack, which derailed the luxury Nevsky Express train Friday night, was part of a broader strategy announced earlier this year by rebel leader Doku Umarov, Kavkaz Center said in a statement attributed to the rebels’ headquarters. Umarov had called to move terrorist attacks and acts of sabotage from the North Caucasus to the rest of Russia.

Most recently, Chechen rebels also claimed responsibility for the disaster that killed 75 workers at the Sayano-Shushenskaya power plant Aug. 17, but, like in the train bombing, they have failed to produce any proof of their involvement. The rebels pledged to continue attacks on Russian soil but promised to limit civilian casualties. The Chechen rebels were not the first to claim responsibility for the bombing. A radical nationalist group called Combat 18 took credit on a nationalist Internet blog on the day after the attack. Unlike some nationalist groups that claim responsibility for high-profile attacks, Combat 18 actually exists, and its members have been interviewed by the Russian media previously.

• "Who is Chechen rebel leader Doku Umarov?", Reuters, 12/2/09.
• "Russia: Bomb Attack on Train", Stratfor, 11/28/09.
  
• "North Caucasus Insurgency Attracting Mainly Young and Committed Members", Jamestown Foundation, 1/15/09.

Read more...

Gunmen Kill 21 In Philippines Over Political Rivalry

Philippine troops found 21 bodies in the country's restive south

after dozens of gunmen on Monday hijacked a convoy of politicians and supporters filing their nominations for next year's elections, officials said.

The victims, 13 women and eight men, were found in southern Ampatuan township, 3 miles from where they were taken hostage as they traveled in three vans earlier Monday, regional military commander Maj. Gen. Alfredo Cayton said. The identities of the gunmen were unclear but victims' relatives blamed political rivals.

Philippine elections are particularly violent in the south because of the presence of armed groups, including Muslim rebels fighting for self-rule in the predominantly Roman Catholic nation, and political warlords who maintain private armies.

The decades-long Muslim insurgency has killed about 120,000 people since the 1970s. But a presidential adviser, Jesus Dureza, said Monday's massacre was "unequaled in recent history."

• "Philippines Political Violence leaves 21 dead", BBC News, 11/23/09.
  
• "Terrorism Havens: Philippines", Council on Foreign Relations, 6/1/09.
• "Abu Sayyaf Group", Council on Foreign Relations, 5/27/09.
• "The Philippines: Running in Place in Mindanao", International Crisis Group, 2/16/09.
  
• "Treading Softly in the Philippines", The Weekly Standard, 1/5/09.
• "The Philippines: Counter-insurgency vs. Counter-terrorism in Mindanao", International Crisis Group, 5/14/08.
• "Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF)", New York Times Topics Website.
  

Read more...

Columbian FARC Rebels May Have Venezuelan Weapons

Shoulder-launched anti-tank weapons purchased by Venezuela have ended up in the hands of guerrillas, Colombian Vice President Francisco Santos said.

In an interview with Caracol Radio Monday, Santos addressed local reports of anti-tank weapons manufactured in Sweden being seized from members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, and traced to Venezuela.

"This is not the first time that this happens," Santos said. "In several operations in which we have recovered weapons from the FARC, we have found powerful munitions and powerful equipment, including anti-tank weapons, from a European country that sold them to Venezuela and that turned up in the hands of the FARC."

• "Venezuela Still Aids Colombia Rebels, New Material Shows", New York Times, 8/2/09.
• "Colombia: FARC weapons traced to Venezuela", CNN, 7/28/09.

Read more...