Chechen President Akhmad Kadyrov was assasinated while watching a Victory Day parade today.
A bomb exploded in a stadium in Chechnya's capital today, killing the republic's president and at least 13 others in a holiday celebration, officials in the region said. More than 50 others were reported injured, among them the Russian military commander for the region.Akhmad Kadyrov, a former rebel leader elected the republic's president last fall in a vote widely considered fraudulent, was the political figure entrusted by President Vladimir V. Putin to wind down nearly a decade of war in Chechnya. His death now plunges the Kremlin's strategy into ominous uncertainty.
The bomb had been hidden inside a concrete pillar directly under the VIP section of the grandstand. Security sweeps of the area before the event reportedly missed the bomb completely. Looks like either a highly sophisticated terrorist effort or an inside job, IMO.
Who was the target then?
Posted by: Edward | May 10, 2004 at 11:56 AM
Here's some interesting information (in Russian). According to the minister of Chechen security, Rudnik Dudaev, Kadirov's presence at the stadium was not planned. In fact, Kadirov was scheduled to officate a military parade at the "Severni" airport (May 9th is the Victory day, in Russa.).
Posted by: Stan LS | May 10, 2004 at 11:57 AM
According to the same article, Dudaev is speculating that the explosive device was installed well in advance in case a high profile official visited there. In fact, NTV is reporting that preparations for the May 9th celebrations at the stadium began three months ago and the explosive device was installed inside concrete... Also, they have found a second explosive device at the stadium which did not go off. That second one would've caused massive casualties among regular civilians.
I guess the terrorists got "lucky".
Posted by: Stan LS | May 10, 2004 at 01:23 PM