Incident Summary:

09/16/1999: Chechen rebels were suspected of the bombing of an apartment building in Volgodonsk, Russian Federation, which killed 19 people and injured at least 184. The explosion left a large crater in front of the building and caused significant damage to the apartment building, along with a nearby police station and approximately twenty other buildings. In 2004, Adam Dekkushev, 42, and Yusuf Krymshamkhalov, 37 were sentenced to life imprisonment for the organization and perpetration of this bombing and the two Moscow apartment bombings, also in September 1999.

GTD ID:
199909160002

When:
1999-09-16

Country:
Russia

Region:
Eastern Europe

Province/administrative
region/u.s. state:

Rostov

City:
Volgodonsk

Attack Information
Type of Attack (more) Bombing/Explosion
Successful Attack? (more) Yes
Target Information (more)
Target Type: Private Citizens & Property
Name of Entity Civilians
Specific Description Residents of an apartment building in Volgodonsk, Russian Federation
Nationality of Target Russia
Additional Information
Hostages No
Ransom No
Property Damage Yes
Extent of Property Damage Unknown
Value of Property Damage Unknown
Weapon Information
Type Sub-type
Explosives Vehicle
Weapon Details
Authorities stated that the bomb, which was placed in a truck outside the building, had the equivalent force of at least 85kg of TNT, creating a crater 13 meters in diameter and 3.5 meters deep.
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 This was one of three related attacks (cf. 199909090002; 199909130003; 199909160002). By 2003, Investigators had determined that the following perpetrators were involved in the Moscow and Volgodonsk bombings: Emir al-Khattab, Abu Umar, Achemez Gochiyayev, Khakim Abayev, Denis Saitakov, Zaur Batchayev, Timur Batchayev, Adam Dekkushev and Yusuf Krymshamkhalov. Khattab, Umar, Z. Batchayev, and T. Batchayev had all reportedly died by this time, Abayev reportedly died in 2004, and Gochiyayev was still at large. Dekkushev and Krymshamkhalov were arrested in 2003 and sentenced for these attacks in 2004. These attacks, along with a fourth in Dagestan (cf. 199909040001) have often been cited as pretexts for Russia's military intervention in Chechnya, which began on October 1, 1999.
Perpetrator Group Information
Group Name Group Sub-name Claimed Responsibility
Chechen Rebels (suspected) Commander Abu Omar al-Saif No
Perpetrator Statistics
Number of Perpetrators Unknown
Number of Captured Perpetrators Unknown
Casualty Information
Total Number of Casualties 17 Fatalities / 184 Injured
Total Number of Fatalities 17
Number of U.S. Fatalities 0
Number of Perpetrator Fatalities 0
Total Number of Injured 184
Number of U.S. Injured 0
Number of Perpetrators Injured 0
Sources
“Volgodonsk bomb equaled [sic] 850 [sic] kilos of TNT: security official,” Agence France Presse, September 17, 1999.
“Yeltsin vows to win ‘struggle against terrorism’: President's pledge follows another Russian blast, which kills 17 people and injures 180,” The Vancouver Sun, September 17, 1999.
“Two terrorists sentenced to life imprisonment in Moscow,” TASS, January 12, 2004.