Inside The Deadly Russian Region Of Chechnya And Dagestan That The Boston Marathon Bombers Use To Call Home

(Laris Karklis/The Washington Post)

Inside The Deadly Russian Region The Tsarnaev Family Used To Call Home -- Pssport/Foreign Policy

As new details emerge about the two brothers suspected of carrying out the Boston Marathon bombings, we're learning that the Tsarnaev family briefly lived in Makhachkala, the capital of Russia's Dagestan region near Chechnya, before moving to the United States in 2002. The Associated Press says it's spoken to the suspects' father, who is in Makhachkala ("My son is a true angel," he declares). And here's the AP on the suspect who is still at large:

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More News On Chechnya And Dagestan

9 questions about Chechnya and Dagestan you were too embarrassed to ask -- Washington Post
Chechnya and Dagestan: troubled corners -- Global Post
Chechnya. Kyrgyzstan. The Caucasus. -- Slate
Chechnya, Dagestan, and the North Caucasus: A Very Brief History -- Smithsonian Magazine
Chechnya region is known as cauldron of Islamic militancy -- New York Daily News
Ties between Islamic extremist groups and Chechnya well-documented -- FOX News
Chechen Conflict Spawns Terrorism -- Voice of America
Troubled North Caucasus region still scene of conflict -- CNN
Boston Bombing Suspects Put Chechnya in Spotlight -- National Geographic
Russia's Caucasus have seen decades of war, terror -- SFGate/AP
Russia’s Caucasus: Breeding Ground for Terror -- Time/AP
Islam and Chechyna -- World Policy Blog
Chechens' Violent History Includes 'Black Widows,' Attacks on School, Theater -- ABC News
Major Chechen attacks in Russia -- Alert Net
Chechnya: What its militants are fighting for -- Mercury News/AP
What to Read Now on Chechnya The best background info on the Boston suspects -- Lydia Depillis, New Republic

Warnings Of Civil War In Russia's Dagestan Region

'Civil War' Among Muslims Shakes Russia's South -- Voice of America

MOSCOW — Three recent attacks that left 30 people dead and 15 wounded have cast a spotlight on the growing religious warfare in Dagestan, Russia's southernmost republic.

First, a border guard serving near Azerbaijan killed seven colleagues before he was shot dead himself. Superior officers said they had tried twice but failed to have him discharged because he was constantly reading about Wahhabism, a conservative form of Islamic fundamentalism.

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Update: Islamic cleric warns of civil war in Russia's Dagestan -- Reuters

My Comment: This is Muslims killing Muslims .... reflecting a growing split among radical and moderate Islamists

Car Bomb Attack In Russia's Dagestan Province Kills 13 Wounds 120

Dozen Killed, 120 Wounded In Russia's Caucasus By Twin Blasts -- The Telegraph

At least a dozen people were killed and more than 120 wounded in a double car bombing in Russia's North Caucasus, the deadliest militant strike for months in the troubled region.

The massive blasts late on Thursday outside Dagestan's main city, which authorities said may have been triggered by suicide bombers, sent huge yellow flames into the night sky, reduced cars to burned wreckage and left a crater in the ground, television pictures showed.

Investigators said 12 people died, while the emergencies ministry put the death toll at 13.

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More News On Yesterday's Terror Bomb Attack In Dagestan

Dagestan Russia blasts: At least 12 dead in Makhachkala -- BBC
Twin blasts kill 14 in Russian Caucasus -- AFP
13 dead, scores wounded in blasts in Dagestan -- FOX News/AP
At Least 13 Killed in Suspected Suicide Bombings in Dagestan -- Voice of America
Explosions hit police post in Russia's Dagestan region -- The Guardian
Suicide Bombing in Dagestan Wounds Dozens: The North Caucasus Is Still Really Dangerous -- Forbes
Dagestan bombings highlight security shortfalls -- Deutsche Welle

Russia's Dagestan Region Hit By A Series of Bomb Attacks

6 Dead, 60 Wounded in Dagestan Bombings -- Moscow Times

Six people were killed and at least 60 injured when three car bombs exploded in the capital of Dagestan, news reports said Thursday.

The first bomb was detonated in Makhachkala on Wednesday evening, killing at least four people and injuring five passers-by, a city police source said on condition of anonymity.

Three of the killed victims were passengers. The source said they were apparently transporting an explosive device and that guns, grenades and ammunition were found in the vehicle.

Two more car bombs exploded after midnight, killing one policeman and a civilian, the source said.

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More News On Bomb Attacks In Russia's Dagestan Province

Triple car bomb explosions kill 6, wound 60 in Russian Dagestan -- All Headline News
Six killed, 50 injured after series of car bombs in Russia’s Dagestan -- National Post
Twin blasts in Russia kill policeman, injure dozens -- AFP
Dozens Hurt By 2 Bombs In Capital Of Dagestan -- New York Times
One dead, 60 injured in Makhachkala twin blasts -- RIA Novosti
Police officer killed in terror bombing -- UPI
Series of blasts kill 1, injure dozens in Russia's Dagestan -- CNN

Unrest In Russia's Dagestan Continues To Grow

In Russia’s Dagestan, Salafi Muslims Clash With Government Authorities -- Washington Post

MAKHACHKALA, Russia — The latest episode in Moscow’s struggle with rebellious Muslims is unfolding here in Dagestan, a forbidding North Caucasian realm where peaks as high as 13,000 feet descend sharply to running rivers.

Suicide bombers have emerged. Each week, an average of three policemen are killed and numerous civilians become casualties. Tanks and helicopters, weapons blazing, pursue guerrillas in the woods.

Until recently, it was the insurgency in neighboring Chechnya that had posed the biggest challenge to Russian leaders. But now, it is the traditionally independent and Muslim Dagestanis whose resentments are turning violent, finding expression in a conservative form of Islam taking root in the beautiful severity of the mountain landscape.

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More News On The Unrest In Dagestan

Four Killed in Russia’s North Caucasus -- Voice of America
FSB officer killed in Dagestan blast -- RIA Novosti
FSB building comes under fire in Dagestan -- RIA Novosti
Militant leader killed in Russia's Dagestan -- Zeenews
Six militants, two officers killed in Russia's Dagestan -- RIA Novosti
At least 15 hurt in bombing in Dagestan capital Makhachkala -- RIA Novosti
Death of a Peacemaker -- Anna Nemtsova, Foreign Policy

Russia's Dagestan Region Is On The Verge Of All Out Civil War

Anarchy In Dagestan: Islamists Gain Upper Hand In Russian Republic -- Spiegel Online

Nowhere in Russia is the situation so explosive as in the autonomous republic of Dagestan. An ongoing Islamist insurgency has plunged the corruption-plagued region into near civil war. Some high-ranking Russian officials believe it will take years to defeat the extremists, if it can be done at all.

An old man is trudging home through the narrow, dusty streets of Gubden, carrying a last memento of his murdered son in the pocket of his trousers. The photo of his eldest son, which the man has stored on his mobile phone, shows a gaping hole next to his left eye. "They killed him when he could no longer defend himself," says the man, whose name is Magomedshapi Vagabov.

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My Comment: My relatives in Russia who understand COIN and and have had experience in fighting insurgencies (Afghanistan, Chechnya) tell me that this low intensity war is getting worse, and that Russian security forces are not even close to having a handle it on it. I suspect that they are probably right, and Spiegel is onto this story with this revealing post.

Islamic Radicals Are Now Targeting Dagestan's Communication Infrastructure

'Eight Dead' In Blast In Russia's Dagestan -- AFP

MOSCOW — Eight people were killed on Thursday in a bomb attack in Russia's southern region of Dagestan, the latest unrest in the troubled North Caucasus, officials said.

"At around 10:30 (0630 GMT), an explosive device went off as repair workers drove by in a vehicle," the investigative committee of Russian prosecutors said in a statement.

"As a result, eight people died and four police officers escorting the workers were wounded."

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More News On The Attacks In Dagestan

Eight killed in Dagestan attack -- BBC
8 Killed in Attack on Cell Phone Workers -- Moscow Times
Militants Kill 7 Russian Workers In North Caucasus -- RTT News
Workers killed by bomb in Dagestan -- CNN
Rebels kill eight Russian telecom staffers in North Caucasus -- M&C

Dagestan, A Russian Hot Spot

Militants have stepped up their attacks in Dagestan, a Russian republic. A wall in a police station in Makhachkala, the capital, is covered with photographs of men suspected of being extremists. James Hill for The New York Times

Dagestan: Russia's Most Overlooked Hot Spot -- Foreign Policy

Why the coming weeks will only get more dangerous for the troubled North Caucasus Republic.

On Feb. 8, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev selected a new president for the troubled North Caucasus republic of Dagestan. The lead-up to the selection was marked by an uptick in violence, and the political controversy surrounding the choice is likely to lead to even further instability.

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More News On Dagestan

Russia Names New Leader for Republic of Dagestan -- New York Times
Medvedev Proposes 4 New Governors -- Moscow Times
Daghestan Lawmakers To Vote On New President -- Radio Free Europe
Political Uncertainty Grips a Russian Republic -- New York Times
Police Chief Assassinated in Makhachkala -- Moscow Times
Police chief among 16 dead in Russia’s ‘Caucasus’ violence -- Arab Times
Russian police kill al Qaeda's co-founder in the Caucasus -- Long War Journal
Dagestan’s Troubles Mount, Mirroring Its Torturous Terrain -- Voice of America
FSB Accuses Georgia of Aiding al-Qaeda in the North Caucasus -- Jamestown Foundation

Russian Violence In Dagestan Leaves 21 Dead In 3-Day Clash

Casualties from Russian Operation in Dagestan. Photo from World Bulletin

Armed Clashes Kill 21 In Russia's Dagestan -- Reuters

MAKHACHKALA, Russia (Reuters) - Russian security forces in the southern region of Dagestan on Saturday said they had ended an operation against militants after three days of clashes in which they said 21 people were killed.

At least four militants died overnight in the mainly Muslim region neighboring Chechnya, which has a tradition of rebellion against rule from Moscow.

Five policemen were killed since clashes started on Thursday and 12 other rebels were killed outside the regional capital of Makhachkala.

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More News On The Conflict In Dagestan

Dagestan clash leaves some police, militants dead -- AP
Russian violence in Dagestan leaves 21 dead in 3-day clash -- World Bulletin
Russian troops end Dagestan anti-rebel operation -- Euronews
Clashes end in Russia's Dagestan -- Al JAzeera
Security operation kills 12 militants in Russia's Dagestan -- China View
Militants and Security Forces Battle in Dagestan -- Jamestown Foundation