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Doku Umarov, the leader of the Caucasus Emirate, from his videotape claiming credit for the Jan. 24, 2011 suicide attack at an airport in Moscow. |
The leader of the Islamic Caucasus Emirate took credit for the deadly suicide attack at an airport in Russia’s capital late last month.
In a videotape released on the Internet, Doku Umarov, the emir of the al Qaeda-linked Islamic Caucasus Emirate, claimed the Jan. 24 suicide attack at Domodedovo International Airport in Moscow that killed 35 people and wounded scores more.
The video was posted at the Dailymotion video site and announced by Kavkaz Center, a propaganda outlet for the Caucasus Emirate. The tape was recorded on Jan. 24, the same day as the Moscow suicide attack, according to Kavkaz Center.
“This special operation was carried out on my orders and, Allah willing, special operations like it will continue to be carried out,” Umarov said.
Umarov said that “Zionist and Christian regimes” were attacking Muslims worldwide, and noted that the succession vote in South Sudan was just the latest example of the West attempting to dismantle Muslim nations.
Umarov warned that the Caucasus Emirate has ‘”hundreds more brothers” capable of attacking further targets inside Russia. He said his followers “are waging jihad in the Caucasus today to establish the word of Allah.”
The release of Umarov’s tape took place just three days after the Caucasus Emirate released a video of their leader meeting with Khamzat, the commander of the Riyad-us-Saliheen Martyr Brigade, the terror group’s suicide squad; and Saifullah, a suicide bomber. On that tape, Umarov said that Saifullah was preparing for a “special operation” inside Russia.
Saifullah appears to be the Caucasus Emirate’s suicide bomber for the Domodedovo International Airport attack. Russian police have yet to determine the identity of the suicide bomber, however.
On that same tape, Umarov threatened Russia with ‘a year of blood and tears’
Last year, Umarov issued a similar warning to Russia after he took credit for a suicide attack in Moscow’s subway. The double suicide attack in Moscow’s metro on March 29, 2010 resulted in the deaths of 39 people and hundreds more wounded.
For more information on the Islamic Caucasus Emirate and its war with Russia, see LWJ report, 35 killed in suicide attack at Moscow airport.
