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SNIPPET: "The attack took place at a hippodrome in the city of Nalchik, capital of Russia's North Caucasus region of Kabardino-Balkaria." SNIPPET: "A law enforcement source told the RIA Novosti news agency the explosive was a time bomb, equivalent to about 5 kg of TNT. The ministry officials said the attack was aimed at civilians and was designed to hit as many people as possible." Posted by Robert on May 1, 2010 5:21 PM

Security officials here in Karachayevo-Cherkessiya, a restive republic on Russia's mountainous southern border, have a secret list of people who are kept under scrutiny. Those on it have committed no crime, but are considered suspect because they are Muslims who practice Islam outside of the state's sanctioned mosques. "We know who they are," the republic's president, Mustafa Batdiyev, said in an interview. He declined to elaborate, but said the list included about 150 people. A former member of a committee that compiled it, Murat Kkahtukayev, said the list was far longer. Ovod Golayev is on it. He lives in Karachayevsk,...

When Abdul-Khalim Sadulaev succeeded the late Aslan Maskhadov as the leader of the Chechen resistance, he was initially described by Russian sources as an Arab and a representative of al-Qaeda. Even after it was shown that the new President was a Chechen, many observers suggested that the presidency of the Islamic scholar would function merely as a rubber-stamp for the terrorist ambitions of warlord Shamil Basaev, Arab fighter Abu Hafs and others. Contrary to these expectations, the young President has moved the Chechen resistance away from terrorism and any potential association with al-Qaeda. Military operations are the order of the...

The diehard gang of Muslim extremists responsible for last week's attack on the southern Russian city of Nalchik consisted mainly of local militants intent on creating a strict Islamic state independent of Moscow. The gunmen were not from Chechnya but belonged to a group from Kabardino-Balkaria, the Russian republic of which Nalchik is the capital, providing alarming evidence that - far from dying down as claimed by President Putin - the bloody Chechen conflict is spreading. Most of the gunmen were thought to be members of Yarmuk, a homegrown fundamentalist group that the local authorities twice claimed to have destroyed....

Shooting has broken out in the southern Russian city of Nalchik, five days after 130 people were killed in clashes between security forces and rebels. Officials said they were in the middle of a fresh operation against militants, who are believed to have Chechen links. There were reports of gunshot in three districts of the city, including close to the morgue where the bodies of dozens of those killed are being held. Residents are being urged to stay in their homes. Parents are also being advised to collect their children from school. Russian media reports say police killed a...

NALCHIK, Russia Oct 18, 2005 — Shooting broke out Tuesday morning in three districts of the southern Russian city of Nalchik, as police and security forces said they were launching special operations to detain suspected militants. Alleged Islamic extremists conducted a coordinated series of attacks on police and other government buildings in the city on Thursday, and some 137 people were killed in the fighting. Local television on Tuesday urged residents not to leave their homes if possible, and school administrators advised parents to take their children home from schools. Shooting was heard in the suburb of Dubki, where the...

Mark Steyn Media utters nonsense, won't call enemy out October 16, 2005 BY MARK STEYN SUN-TIMES COLUMNIST From Thursday's New York Times: ''Nalchik, Russia -- Insurgents launched a series of raids today in this southern Russian city, striking the area's main airport and several police and security buildings in large-scale, daytime attacks that left at least 85 people dead.'' "Insurgents," eh? From Agence France Presse: "Nalchik, Russia: More than 60 people were killed as scores of militants launched simultaneous attacks on police and government buildings . . ." "Militants," you say? From the Scotsman: "Rebel forces battled Russian troops for...

From an e-mail from LauraMansfield.com: "We have put together a special report consisting of translations from international media regarding yesterday's attack on Nalchik by Chechen Islamist Terrorists. There are some very interesting reports - including one that discusses the formation of a branch of HAMAS in the Caucasus and a call from a prominent Muslim leader demanding the banning of Wahhabism in Russia. We believe this is rapidly becoming the most comprehensive repository of news coverage on this subject. We are continuously updating the report so please access it at http://www.lauramansfield.com/j/nalchik.asp"

ALARM - men armed in a school with Naltchik VLADIKAVKAZ (Russia) - armed men entered a school of Naltchik, the capital of the Russian Caucasian republic of Kabardino-Balkarie, and shootings were heard there, brought back a witness, questioned by telephone by AFP since the republic close to Ossétie of North.

ALARM - Naltchik: the police force gives the attack to a building NALTCHIK (Russia) - the police force gave the attack Friday morning to a store of Naltchik (the Caucasus of north) where had taken refuge Thursday of the combatants of an armed commando, noted a journalist of AFP.

NALCHIK, February 20 (RIA Novosti) - During a three-day joint special operation conducted by the Interior Ministry and the FSB on the territory of Kabardino-Balkaria (a federal republic in the North Caucasus), operatives eliminated and detained several bandits who planned terrorist acts on the territory of the Russian Federation. During a press conference in Nalchik, the capital of the republic, Russian deputy interior minister Arkady Yedelev announced that five terrorists were detained and three were eliminated. Operatives discovered an underground lab for manufacturing explosive devices. They seized various amounts of TNT, plastic explosives, hexogen, saltpeter and 69 detonators. As to...

NALCHIK, February 20 (Itar-Tass) - The gunmen, killed in Nalchik on Sunday, were members of armed gangs, subordinated to Basayev and Maskhadov, Russian Deputy Interior Minister Arkady Yedelev told reporters on Sunday. According to deputy minister, they are members of the Karachayevo-Cherkess jamaat and were on the federal Wanted List for committing terror acts in the Rostov Region and Stavropol Territory and were hatching new terror acts. In Yedelev’s words, new methods were used during the special operation: officially permitted Cheremukha-7 gas was used to neutralize the bandits who entrenched themselves in an apartment. “Gunmen suffered a serious blow”...