Back to Search ResultsIncident Summary:
10/19/1999: In Russia, two suspected Chechen rebels, armed with machine guns and grenades, attempted to blow up a railway line in Astrakhan Oblast, fifty kilometers north of the oblast capital city of Astrakhan. At approximately 1 a.m. local time, the perpetrators were spotted by a passing driver while they were installing the bomb along the track at a spot where the Moscow-Dushanbe line was soon scheduled to pass. They fired at the driver, who drove away after being wounded, and then hastily completed planting the bomb. The device was not put together properly and did not damage the railway tracks when it exploded. The perpetrators subsequently injured an additional four people and killed another four, including three policemen, in a day-long shooting spree before vanishing into the flood plain of the Volga River.Overview
GTD ID:
199910190001
When:
1999-10-19
Country:
Russia
Region:
Eastern Europe
Province/administrative
region/u.s. state:
Astrakhan
City:
Near Aksarayskiy
Location Details:
This incident occurred 50 kilometers north of the city of Astrakhan.
What
| Type of Attack (more) | Armed Assault |
| Type of Attack (more) | Bombing/Explosion |
| Successful Attack? (more) | No |
| Target Type: Transportation | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Name of Entity | Russian Railway System | ||
| Specific Description | A Russian railway track north of Astrakhan | ||
| Nationality of Target | Russia | ||
| Hostages | No |
| Ransom | No |
| Property Damage | Yes |
| Extent of Property Damage | Minor (likely < $1 million) |
| Value of Property Damage | Unknown |
How
| Type | Sub-type |
|---|---|
| Firearms | Automatic Weapon |
| Explosives | Grenade |
| Explosives | Dynamite/TNT |
| Weapon Details | |
| The perpetrators planted TNT on the railroad tracks. | |
| Suicide Attack? | No |
| Part of Multiple Incident? | No |
| Criterion 1 (more) | Yes |
| Criterion 2 (more) | Yes |
| Criterion 3 (more) | Yes |
| Doubt Terrorism Proper (more) | No |
| Additional Information | Police nationwide were ordered to increase security and work 12-hour shifts without vacation in order to avert Chechen terrorists attacks. Those injured included the initial driver who spotted the perpetrators, as well as a second driver who also saw the rebels at the tracks. Sergeant Arkady Petrov, a police officer who also saw the men, was shot dead after he rushed to the tracks. Later that day, the rebels got into two separate firefights with police officers, one of which resulted in no casualties, but the other resulted in the deaths of two officers, injuries to two others and the wounding of one of the perpetrators. The men also later shot at two shepherds in Kharablinsky district while trying to steal food, killing one of the victims. |
Who
| Group Name | Claimed Responsibility |
|---|---|
| Chechen Rebels (suspected) | No |
| Number of Perpetrators | 2 |
| Number of Captured Perpetrators | 0 |
| Total Number of Casualties | 4 Fatalities / 6 Injured |
| Total Number of Fatalities | 4 |
| Number of U.S. Fatalities | 0 |
| Number of Perpetrator Fatalities | 0 |
| Total Number of Injured | 6 |
| Number of U.S. Injured | 0 |
| Number of Perpetrators Injured | 1 |
Sources
| Simon Saradzhyan, “Botched Terrorist Attack in Astrakhan Leaves 4 Dead,” The Moscow Times, October 20, 1999. |
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