This was a Basayev led operation. It has his marks all over it. Plus the black widows.
Another interesting point is that Abu Walid in the same telecast (it was actually fragments of various interviews) stated he encouraged the use of women suicide terrorists whose husbands and sons have been killed by the Russians. It appears to be a growing trend worldwide among these guys.
Turns out that Abu Walid is second in command to only Basayev. Sounds like Walid is the money guy and coordinates the funneling of foreign funds for their activities. Is Basayev a native Chechen?