Incident Summary:

09/04/1999: In Buynaksk, Dagestan, Russia, sixty-four people were killed and over 100 were wounded when a GAZ-52 vehicle containing one ton of explosives was blown up near the apartment building where officers of the 136th Motor-Rifle Brigade of the Russian Defense Ministry lived together with their families. Seven perpetrators were later arrested for the attack. In 2001, Isa Zaynudinov and Alisultan Salikhov received life terms from the Dagestan Supreme Court, Abdulkadyr Kadyrov and Magomed Magomedov, were sentenced to nine years of hard labor, while Zaynudin Zaynudinov and Makhatch Abdusametov were released under an amnesty law after receiving three-year sentences. In 2006, Magomed Salikhov, charged with organizing the attack, was acquitted.

GTD ID:
199909040001

When:
1999-09-04

Country:
Russia

Region:
Eastern Europe

Province/administrative
region/u.s. state:

Dagestan

City:
Buynaksk

Attack Information
Type of Attack (more) Bombing/Explosion
Successful Attack? (more) Yes
Target Information (more)
Target Type: Military
Name of Entity Russian Army
Specific Description Russian Army Barracks in Dagestan, Russian Federation
Nationality of Target Russia
Additional Information
Hostages No
Ransom No
Property Damage Yes
Extent of Property Damage Minor (likely < $1 million)
Value of Property Damage Unknown
Weapon Information
Type Sub-type
Explosives Vehicle
Additional Information
Suicide Attack?No
Part of Multiple Incident?Yes
Criterion 1 (more) Yes
Criterion 2 (more) Yes
Criterion 3 (more) Yes
Doubt Terrorism Proper (more) No
Additional Information Although Salikhov was found not guilty of this attack, he was found guilty of taking part in illegal armed formations, illegal crossing of the state border of the Russian Federation and knowingly using forged documents. He was sentenced to four years and four months of imprisonment for these offenses. Russia has always linked the Buynaksk blast to Chechen Islamic separatist rebels and this attack, along with several other apartment bombings that occurred in September 1999 have often been cited as pretexts for Russia's military intervention in Chechnya, which began on October 1, 1999 (cf. 199909090002; 199909130003; 199909160002).
Perpetrator Group Information
Group Name Group Sub-name Claimed Responsibility
Chechen Rebels (suspected) Commander Ibn al-Khattab No
Perpetrator Statistics
Number of Perpetrators Unknown
Number of Captured Perpetrators 0
Casualty Information
Total Number of Casualties 64 Fatalities / 100 Injured
Total Number of Fatalities 64
Number of U.S. Fatalities 0
Number of Perpetrator Fatalities 0
Total Number of Injured 100
Number of U.S. Injured 0
Number of Perpetrators Injured 0
Sources
“Two get life sentences for Chechen-linked bombing in Dagestan,” Agence France Presse, March 19, 2001.
“Rebel In Russian Southern Republic Sentenced To Four Years,” BBC Monitoring International Reports, February 3, 2006.
“Jury Acquits Man Charged With Organizing 1999 Army Quarters Blast In Buynaksk,” BBC Monitoring International Reports, January 24, 2006.