The Grozny truck bombing occurred on December 27, 2002, when three Chechen suicide bombers ran vehicles into the heavily guarded republic's

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is ...

headquarters in the regional capital

Grozny Grozny ( rus, Грозный, p=ˈgroznɨj; ce, Соьлжа-ГӀала, translit=Sölƶa-Ġala), also spelled Groznyy, is the capital city of Chechnya, Russia. The city lies on the Sunzha River. According to the 2010 census, it had a po ...

Details

The drivers of two vehicles reportedly wore federal

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

uniform A uniform is a variety of clothing worn by members of an organization while participating in that organization's activity. Modern uniforms are most often worn by armed forces and paramilitary organizations such as police, emergency services, ...

s and carried official passes which allowed them through three successive military checkpoints on their way to the headquarters building. A guard at the fourth and final checkpoint attempted to inspect the vehicles, and began firing on the vehicles as they drove through the checkpoint towards the building. The explosion by the equivalent of a ton of dynamite brought down the roof and floors of the four-story building. The first reports said of as few as two dead. Ultimately, Chechen officials said 83
people were killed (48 on the spot) and 210 were injured. Several Chechen administration officials were injured in the attack, including Deputy prime minister, Deputy Prime Minister Zina Batyzheva (seriously wounded) and Chechen

Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, an ...

Secretary A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a ...

Rudnik Dudayev. The head of the pro-Russian administration in Chechnya,

Akhmad Kadyrov Akhmad-Khadzhi Abdulkhamidovich Kadyrov ce, Къадири Ӏабдулхьамидан кӀант Ахьмад-Хьажи, Q̇adiri Jabdulẋamidan khant Aẋmad-Ẋaƶi (23 August 1951 – 9 May 2004) was a Russian politician and revolutionar ...

, and his

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

Mikhail Babich Mikhail Viktorovich Babich (russian: Михаил Викторович Бабич; born 28 May 1969) is a Russian politician and diplomat. Russian Ambassador to Belarus in 2018–2019. Previously he was the Presidential Envoy to the Volga Federal ...

, were not in the building at the time.

Responsibility

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...

Ilya Shabalkin, spokesman for the joint federal forces in Chechnya, said the bombing was organized by Chechen rebel field commanders Abu al-Walid and

Shamil Basayev Shamil Salmanovich Basayev ( ce, Салман ВоӀ Шамиль ; russian: Шамиль Салманович Басаев; 14 January 1965 – 10 July 2006), also known by his kunya "Abu Idris", was a senior military commander in the Cheche ...

. Basayev claimed responsibility for the planning and execution of the attack, saying that he personally detonated the bomb by

remote control In electronics, a remote control (also known as a remote or clicker) is an electronic device used to operate another device from a distance, usually wirelessly. In consumer electronics, a remote control can be used to operate devices such a ...

. Some news reports called the attack an act of

terrorism Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...

, which with 83 confirmed fatalities, would have been the deadliest terrorist attack in Chechnya. Others described the attackers as militants and rebels and not terrorists.

References

External links

Chechen rebels punch ever harder

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...

, 27 December 2002
Chechnya suicide bombers 'used Russian military links'
''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', December 29, 2002 {{DEFAULTSORT:Grozny Truck Bombing Suicide bombings in 2002 21st-century mass murder in Russia 2002 in Russia Mass murder in 2002 Islamic terrorism in Russia History of Grozny Suicide car and truck bombings in Europe Suicide bombing in the Chechen wars Terrorist incidents in Russia in 2002 Car and truck bombings in the Chechen wars Islamic terrorist incidents in 2002 December 2002 events in Russia 2002 in Chechnya