The Shatoy ambush (known in Russia as the Battle of Yarysh-mardy) was an attack by forces of the
Arab
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
Russia
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n 2nd Battalion from the 245th Motor Rifle Regiment (MRR) and killed 53 servicemen and injured 52, according to the official Russian figures. The first reports by the officials spoke of only 26 killed and 51 wounded.Chechen rebels kill 26 Russian soldiers in ambush , Interfax, 96 04 17 According to the other sources, more than 70 to almost 100KHATTAB KILLED, CLAIMS AN UNNAMED FSB OFFICIAL. ,
The Jamestown Foundation
The Jamestown Foundation is a Washington, D.C.-based conservative defense policy think tank. Founded in 1984 as a platform to support Soviet defectors, its stated mission today is to inform and educate policy makers about events and trends, wh ...
, April 12, 2002 to even 223 soldiers of the 245th MRR died in the ambush. A few civilians who were traveling with the convoy were also reportedly killed.Did NSA Help Russia Target Dudayev? , ''
CovertAction Quarterly
''CovertAction Quarterly'' (formerly ''CovertAction Information Bulletin'') was an American journal in publication from 1978 to 2005, focused primarily on watching and reporting global covert operations. It is generally critical of US Foreign Polic ...
, No. 61
According to the second-hand account by the
Polish
Polish may refer to:
* Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe
* Polish language
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Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...
volunteer Mirosław Kuleba (aka Władysław Wilk/Mehmed Borz), Khattab's detachment of 43 men chose a "perfect
ambush
An ambush is a long-established military tactic in which a combatant uses an advantage of concealment or the element of surprise to attack unsuspecting enemy combatants from concealed positions, such as among dense underbrush or behind mo ...
spot" with a
ravine
A ravine is a landform that is narrower than a canyon and is often the product of streambank erosion.stream on one side and a forested
slope
In mathematics, the slope or gradient of a line is a number that describes both the ''direction'' and the ''steepness'' of the line. Slope is often denoted by the letter ''m''; there is no clear answer to the question why the letter ''m'' is use ...
on the other side of a serpentine mountain road: the rebels first let the Russian recon squad through and then detonated an IED under the leading
tank
A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and good battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engi ...
; simultaneously, a volley of RPGs hit the unit's command vehicle, killing the Russian commander instantly, and the APC at the end the column - after this, the Chechens opened fire on the rest of the Russian unit. Kuleba wrote that the three-hour attack burned 27 armoured vehicles and trucks in the convoy and just 12 out of 199 Russian soldiers survived "the slaughter", while the rebel losses were only three killed and six wounded. Czeczeński Specnaz, ''Komandos'', June 1997
According to the Russian book ''Chechenskiy Kapkan'', up to 100 fighters ambushed the column of 30 Russian armoured vehicles, almost 100 soldiers were killed and "only eight escaped with their lives".CHECHNYA: TWO FEDERAL INTERVENTIONS ,
Conflict Studies Research Centre
The Conflict Studies Research Centre (CSRC), was a component of the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom, based at Shrivenham, Oxfordshire. It specialised in potential causes of conflict in a wide area ranging from the Baltics to Central Asia.
...
, January 2000
Aftermath
A video of the ambush, which shows the Russians were under the feet of the mujahideen, widely distributed and celebrated in Chechnya, featured Khattab "walking triumphantly down a line of blackened Russian corpses", and gained him early fame in Chechnya and great notoriety in Russia.The Russo-Chechen War: A Threat to Stability in the Middle East and Eurasia? ,
Middle East Policy Council
The Middle East Policy Council (MEPC) is a Washington, D.C.-based 501(c)3 non-profit organization that produces analysis and commentary on issues impacting U.S. national interests in the Middle East. It was founded in 1981 under the stated mission ...
, March 2001 The images of carnage also caused new calls for Russia's defence minister
Pavel Grachev
Pavel Sergeyevich Grachev (russian: Па́вел Серге́евич Грачё́в; 1 January 1948 – 23 September 2012), sometimes transliterated as Grachov or Grachyov, was a Russian Army General and the Defence Minister of the Russian Fed ...
to resign, while Russia suspended its limited troop withdrawal.