Terrorists Strike Again in Russia
October 13, 2005
Terrorists Strike Again in Russia
Insurgents attacked the city of Nalchik, the capital of the Northern Caucasus region of Kabardino-Balkaria in Russia, at 9:00 a.m. today. The attack shut down communications centers and the airport. The main police station and the FSB (successor of the KGB) office also came under attack.
Reports vary on the number of people killed in the attack as well as the number of terrorists. Russian Ministries’ sources report that as many as 600 terrorists carried out the attack in a planned effort to block communications and security. Residents of Nalchik also claim that the number of people killed is higher than what is being reported.
Shamil Basayev, the Chechen warlord who claimed responsibility for the Beslan tragedy in September 2004, has been linked to this attack by Russian news sources. Nalchik is only 60 miles from Beslan.
Our sources in the country also report that cellular communication in the area is spotty at best, but they were able to contact Marina Kudasheva, Russian Ministries’ children’s ministry director in Nalchik. She and her family were able to flee the city before President Vladimir Putin ordered a citywide lock down. The Kudashev family is safe, and waiting for word to return home.
Russian Ministries has been planning to hold seminars for children’s workers in Beslan and the Nalchik area in November. Russian Ministries has a variety of ministries to present the good news of Jesus to Muslims in Nalchik and the surrounding area, including a strong “School Without Walls” training program.
Russian Ministries urges prayer for our workers, ministry partners and churches in this unstable region. Please pray that training seminars and ministry outreach will continue to move forward and that Christians will be a voice of hope and peace in midst of terror and unrest.