Militants opened fire at a Moscow concert hall, killing at least 40 people and injuring more than 100 others.
Moscow:
Russia is reeling from a mass shooting and fire at a Moscow rock concert, which the government labeled a “terrorist attack.”
Here AFP looks back at attacks on the city over the past 25 years.
– Apartment building bombed, 118 killed (1999) –
In the early morning of September 13, 1999, a bomb exploded in an eight-story apartment building in southeast Moscow, killing 118 people.
The attack was one of five attacks on apartment buildings in Moscow and southern Russia in two weeks that killed 293 people
Moscow blamed the attack on separatist “terrorists” from the predominantly Muslim North Caucasus republic of Chechnya.
President Vladimir Putin has used the attacks to justify launching a campaign to suppress a separatist rebellion in Chechnya.
– Theater Hostage Crisis, 130 Dead (2002) –
On October 23, 2002, a group of 21 men and 19 women Chechen rebels attacked Moscow’s Dubrovka Theater during a musical and took more than 800 people hostage.
The standoff with security forces lasted two days and three nights.
The story ends when security forces pump poison gas into the theater to subdue the attackers and storm the theater. A total of 130 hostages were killed. Most people died from asphyxiation on gas.
– Rock concert attack, 15 killed (2003) –
On July 5, 2003, two female suicide bombers, identified by Russia as Chechen separatists, blew themselves up at a rock concert at Tushino Airport near Moscow, killing 15 people and about 50 others. Injuried.
Some 20,000 fans come to hear top Russian bands perform at the annual Krylya (Wings) festival.
– Subway bombing, 41 killed (2004) –
On February 6, 2004, a little-known Chechen group detonated a bomb in a crowded Moscow subway during morning rush hour, killing 41 people.
– Subway suicide attack, 40 killed (2010) –
On March 29, 2010, two more female suicide bombers blew themselves up on the Moscow subway.
The attacks killed 40 people, including one that targeted the Lubyanka station next to the headquarters of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) intelligence service.
The two bombers came from Dagestan, a volatile North Caucasus region.
The Caucasus Emirates group, led by Chechen rebel leader Doku Umarov, claimed responsibility.
– Airport attack, 37 killed (2011) –
On January 24, 2011, a suicide bomb attack occurred in the arrivals hall of Moscow Domodedovo International Airport, killing 37 people.
The Caucasus Emirate group claimed responsibility for the attack.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
