Incident Summary:
02/06/2004: A bomb exploded on the Moscow Metro Railway between Avtosavodskaya and Paveletskaya Stations in central Moscow. The attack occurred during the morning rush hour, in one of Moscow's busiest metro stations. The Russian government blamed the attack on Chechen rebels, but Aslan Maskhadov, former Chechen president and current Chechen rebel leader, denied involvement.
Overview
GTD ID:
200402060003
When:
2004-02-06
Country:
Russia
Region:
Eastern Europe
Province/administrative
region/u.s. state:
Moscow
City:
Zamoskvorechye
What
Attack Information
| Type of Attack () |
Bombing/Explosion |
| Successful Attack? () |
Yes |
Target Information ()
| Target Type: Private Citizens & Property |
|---|
| Name of Entity |
Russian Civilians |
| Specific Description |
Moscow Metro Railway passengers |
| Nationality of Target |
Russia |
| Target Type: Transportation |
|---|
| Name of Entity |
Moscow Metro Railway |
| Specific Description |
Second car of a train leaving Paveletskaya Station in central Moscow |
| Nationality of Target |
Russia |
Additional Information
| Hostages |
No |
| Ransom |
No |
| Property Damage |
Yes |
| Extent of Property Damage |
Major (likely > $1 million but < $1 billion) |
| Value of Property Damage |
Unknown |
How
Weapon Information
| Type |
Sub-type |
| Explosives |
Unknown Explosive Type |
| Weapon Details |
|---|
| The main theory of investigators was that the blast was perpetrated by suicide bombers. However, other theories, include the possibility that the bomb was set on time delay and placed in a briefcase |
Additional Information
| Suicide Attack? | No |
| Part of Multiple Incident? | No |
| Criterion 1 () |
Yes |
| Criterion 2 () |
Yes |
| Criterion 3 () |
Yes |
| Doubt Terrorism Proper () |
No |
| Additional Information |
There were conflicting reports of a female suicide bomber, or a bag/suitcase bomb left on the train car. Vladimir Putin accused rebel leader Aslan Maskhadov of being behind the attack. Mr. Maskhadov denied any involvement. The explosion occurred in the second car of the train, blowing out windows and causing metal pieces of the train to be strewn in all directions. The device had an explosive power of about 4-5 kg of TNT. |
Who
Perpetrator Group Information
| Group Name |
Group Sub-name |
Claimed Responsibility |
| Chechen Rebels (suspected) |
Commander Aslan Maskhadov |
No |
Perpetrator Statistics
| Number of Perpetrators |
Unknown |
| Number of Captured Perpetrators |
0 |
Casualty Information
| Total Number of Casualties |
40 Fatalities / 122 Injured |
| Total Number of Fatalities |
40 |
| Number of U.S. Fatalities |
0 |
| Number of Perpetrator Fatalities |
Unknown |
| Total Number of Injured |
122 |
| Number of U.S. Injured |
0 |
| Number of Perpetrators Injured |
Unknown |
Sources
Sources
| Rebecca Santana, "Bombing rocks Russian capital, killing dozens," Cox News Service, February 6, 2004. |
| "In brief," The Houston Chronicle, February 6, 2004. |
| "World in brief," The Washington Post, February 6, 2004. |
Criteria
Criteria 1
The act must be aimed at attaining a political, economic, religious, or social goal. In terms of economic goals, the exclusive pursuit of profit does not satisfy this criterion. It must involve the pursuit of more profound, systemic economic change.
Criterion 2
There must be evidence of an intention to coerce, intimidate, or convey some other message to a larger audience (or audiences) than the immediate victims. It is the act taken as a totality that is considered, irrespective if every individual involved in carrying out the act was aware of this intention. As long as any of the planners or decision-makers behind the attack intended to coerce, intimidate or publicize, the intentionality criterion is met.
Criterion 3
The action must be outside the context of legitimate warfare activities. That is, the act must be outside the parameters permitted by international humanitarian law (particularly the prohibition against deliberately targeting civilians or non-combatants.
Doubt Terrorism Proper
The existence of a "Yes" for "Doubt Terrorism Proper?" records reservation, in the eyes of GTD analysts, that the incident in question is truly terrorism. Such uncertainty, however, was not deemed to be sufficient to disqualify the incident from inclusion into the GTD. Furthermore, such a determination of doubt is subsequently coded by GTD analysts as conforming to one of four possible alternative designations: 1) Insurgency/Guerilla Action; 2) Internecine Conflict Action; 3) Mass Murder; or 4) Purely Criminal Act.
Alternate Designation
The determination of "yes" for "Doubt Terrorism Proper" by GTD analysts is coded as conforming to one of four possible alternative designations: 1) Insurgency/Guerilla Action; 2) Internecine Conflict Action; 3) Mass Murder; or 4) Purely Criminal Act.
Successful Attack
Success of a terrorist strike is defined according to the tangible effects of the attack. For example, in a typical successful bombing, the bomb detonates and destroys property and/or kills individuals, whereas an unsuccessful bombing is one in which the bomb is discovered and defused or detonates early and kills the perpetrators. Success is not judged in terms of the larger goals of the perpetrators. For example, a bomb that exploded in a building would be counted as a success even if it did not, for example, succeed in bringing the building down or inducing government repression.
Type of Attack
This field captures the general method of attack and often reflects the broad class of tactics used. It consists of the following nine categories:
- Assassination
- Armed Assault
- Unarmed Assault
- Bombing/Explosion
- Hijacking
- Hostage taking (Barricade Incident)
- Hostage taking (Kidnapping)
- Facility / Infrastructure Attack
- Unknown
Target Information
This field captures the general type of target. It consists of the following 22 categories:
- Abortion Related
- Airports & Airlines
- Business
- Government (General)
- Government (Diplomatic)
- Educational Institution
- Food or Water Supply
- Journalists & Media
- Maritime (includes Ports and Maritime facilities)
- Military
- NGO
- Other
- Police
- Private Citizens & Property
- Religious Figures/Institutions
- Telecommunication
- Terrorists
- Tourists
- Transportation (other than aviation)
- Unknown
- Utilities
- Violent Political Parties
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