Tatarstan Terrorists Eliminated: Authorities Finally Getting Job Done

Volga Tatars (Tatarstan and the historical region of Idel-Ural; Ryazan Oblast, Tambov Oblast, Astrakhan Oblast Kazakistan and Central Asia) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

An anti-terrorist operation in a residential district of Kazan, the capital of Tatarstan, has just been completed. Three terrorists have been killed as a result. Unfortunately, two FSB officers have also been killed in the sting, but no civilians have been harmed. It is also reported that the body of one of the dead criminals had a device resembling a “suicide bomber’s belt.” Explosives experts are currently examining the device.

According to the Investigative Committee, the special operation in Tatarstan became possible after the whereabouts of the suspects in a prior terrorist act became known. The terrotists killed in Kazan were behind the attempt to kill the mufti of the Spiritual Board of Muslims of Tatarstan, and the killing of his deputy. When the republican FSB special forces attempted to detain the suspects, the terrorists resisted and detonated an explosive device, presumably a grenade. As a result the authorities have made the decision to launch an assault on the terrorsits’ apartment, located on the first floor of a building in Khimikov street in Kazan. All of the terrorists were destroyed.

We have already written that the terrorist underground is rapidly spreading through the Volga regions. We also wrote that the government is not always able to promptly and accurately respond to rather obvious signals of this movement. However, today’s special operation has demonstrated that intelligence services are carrying out investigative work ahead of the curve, because the “suicide bomber’s belt” found on the body of one of the terrorists was obviously assembled with ill intent.

We should note that very recently the Tatar mujahideen have posted a new message on the web, where the so-called forest brothers were urging their compatriots to join the armed jihad:

“Al-hamdu-Llyah, we, the Mujahideen, have taken this path to fight against the enemies of Islam. And these hypocrites who call themselves “traditional muslims” are the worst of creatures. They lay slander on Allah with their mouths, they are trying to distort the words of Allah,” the statement says. “And there is no such religion as “traditional Islam“, “moderate Islam” or “secular Islam.” It’s not even a sect or a derivative religious movement, it is pure deception and lies. The enemies of Islam have introduced heresy into the religion of Allah, and called it “traditional” to lead others astray from the true path of Allah … And those who do not follow them are labeled Wahhabis, and the Kafirs legitimize their persecution and murder …

They urge to obey the Kafirs, to obey their laws, to serve in their army … to celebrate holidays of the so-called Christians. They call Kafirs their leaders and call for obeisance to them …

When we learned that Faizov survived, we were a little upset. However, Al-hamdu-Llyah,  Allah has revealed to us how he eliminates his enemies. And we have seen how the key Kafir Putin arrives in Kazan and gives a medal to his faithful dog, who was ready to kneel and kiss the hands of his master.”

Around the same time Al Jazeera aired the message of a popular Islamic scholar Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, who criticized Russia for its support of Syria:

“Brothers, Moscow these days has turned into an enemy of Islam and Muslims. It has evolved into the biggest enemy of Islam and Muslims, because it is opposed to the Syrian people. Arab and Islamic world must stand united against Russia. We should boycott Russia – our enemy number one.”

All these facts fit neatly into the theory of internationalization of radical Islam and the opening of a new war front against Russia.

 

UPDATE: According to the FSB, the destroyed terrorists have been identified. Among them were members of the Mingaliev gang, along with their leader, Rais Mingaliev, who was on the federal and international wanted lists. It is suspected that the gang is behind many of the assassinations of spiritual leaders in Tatarstan. Mingaliev has previously called himself on video the Emir of the Mujahideen of Tatarstan, and took responsibility for the attacks. The police have later said that the terrorist apartment has been on watch for a long time. While trying to arrest the terrorists, one of them detonated an explosive device, injuring two officers of the FSB (one later died). The others were detained as a result of the assault. According to the FSB the terrorists were preparing a series of attacks against civilians during the upcoming holiday of Eid al-Adha.

Related articles

• Russia: 2 dead men were killers of Muslim cleric (dailystar.com.lb)
• Russian Officials Say Kazan Operation Prevented Major Terrorist Attack (rferl.org)
• Police kill two Islamist militants in Russia’s Tatarstan (indrus.in)
• Kazan Averts Terror Attack, Lands Suspects In Mufti Faizov Bombing and Valiulla Yakupov Assassination (therearenosunglasses.wordpress.com)
• Two Security Officials, Three Suspected Militants Killed In Kazan (rferl.org)
• Tatarstan Imam Charged With Extremism (rferl.org)
• Russia kills 2 Islamist assassins (waronterrornews.typepad.com)
• Russia says kills suspects in Muslim clerics attacks (news.terra.com)
• Russian police kill 2 Islamist militants in Tatarstan (panarmenian.net)
• Kazan: Three dead in Russia gun battle (updatednews.ca)

Weekly Video Review #46

Some of the topics covered in the video:

– Protests in Libya

– French publish cartoon of Mohammed but ban nude pics of Kate Middleton: freedom of speech?

– Interview with El-Murid and the forces behind the “Innocence of Islam” provocation

– Tortured prisoners in Georgia: Russia’s Putin as the uber scapegoat?

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• Weekly Video Review #44 (redivisionoftheworld.wordpress.com)
• The Video Didn’t Do It | The Weekly Standard (thebusypost.wordpress.com)
• French weekly to publish caricatures of Prophet Mohammed (ndtv.com)
• Iranians protest prophet cartoons in French weekly (thehimalayantimes.com)
• France bans protests over Prophet Mohammad cartoons (dailystar.com.lb)
• Malaysia PM says anti-Islam film, French cartoons “unnecessarily inflammatory” (bikyamasr.com)
• French Weekly Publishes Lewd Cartoons Of Mohamed (ibtimes.com)
• Google refuses to remove anti-Islam film clip from Youtube, bars access in Egypt, Libya (bikyamasr.com)
• Iran blocks YouTube, Google over Mohammed video (cnn.com)

More Terrorists Dead in Kazakhstan. We’re Headed for Troubled Waters.

 

Yesterday another band of terrorists was destroyed in Kazakhstan. On the same day, another man with an arsenal of explosives and ammunition was detained. Such cases have become so frequent in Kazakhstan that they are no longer seen as something extraordinary. Yet not so long ago reports of an emerging terrorist underground were seen as conspiracy theory nonsense. Let’s look at the situation one year after the wave of terror began in Kazakhstan.

Minus five

The Atyrau region yesterday was roiling with unrest. Law enforcement officials have discovered a band of terrorists in one of the apartment of a residential high-rise building. The area was cordoned off, residents evacuated, and the bandits were ordered to surrender. But the bandits responded with gun fire and detonated several explosives, injuring one special ops trooper. In the resulting assault five terrorists were killed and another wounded and taken to hospital.

Interestingly, detectives discovered this group while investigating another terrorist cell. A week earlier in Atyrau a Kazakh citizen blew himself up, having apparently mishandled an explosive device. Three more home made bombs were later found in his apartment. The dead man’s associates, discovered as a result of the investigation, let the police to the group which was subsequently destroyed yesterday.

Also yesterday, a resident of the Alma-Ata region was seized with a fully fledged military arsenal: three sticks of TNT, one RGD-5 hand grenade without a fuse, a fuse to the hand grenade, a fully loaded Makarov magazine, 153 rounds of 9mm cartridges and an EDP-1 electronic detonator.

News from the Front

The fact of the matter is that something terribly wrong is going on in Kazakhstan that even the blind can see. This is a partial list of recent high-profile incidents in Kazakhstan:

– August 17, 2012. Nine terrorists were killed in the course of a special operation near Alma-Ata;

– August 14, 2012. 11 people slaughtered in the Ile-Alatau National Park by unknown attackers;

– July 11, 2012. Self-explosion in Tuasamaly. Weapons and extremist literature were found on the scene. According to some reports the bomb was intended for Nazarbayev;

– May 31, 2012. Unidentified attackers shot 12 people from NATO-standard weapons on the border of  the Alma-Ata region;

– May 25, 2012. Police raided a resident of Ridder, seizing an arsenal of explosives and ammunition. On the same day another weapons cache was found;

– December 16, 2011. Oil workers strike in Zhanaozen. Unexpectedly stiff resistance from the police and the professional organization of the protest suggests participation of foreign coordinators;

– December 3, 2011. A band of 5 terrorists was destroyed in the Alma-Ata region in a special operation;

– November 12, 2011. Bandits made a real show of shooting grenade launchers, pursuing and killing  police officers in Taraz;

– November 8, 2011. In Alma-Ata gunmen attacked a patrol unit, killing two police officers;

– October 31, 2011. Two explosions in Atyrau, one of which was a suicide bombing.

Again, this is not a complete list of events. Most experts agree on the idea that the Kazakh secret services were unprepared for such a rapidly deteriorating situation. As a result the country is taking urgent steps to increase the powers of the National Security Committee (analogue of the Russian FSB, the Federal Security Service).

Me, worry?

That was the question asked by many of our Russian readers when the wave of terror began in Kazakhstan and, unfortunately, continue to ask now. Recall that Russia and Kazakhstan share the longest land border (7000 km), which in many areas is not controlled or monitored in any meaningful way. Destabilization of Kazakhstan will lead to a stream of refugees, drug traffic, terrorism and arms exports to Russia. Take a look at what is happening in Syria and its neighbors, and then compare the extent of their borders and ours. Get the picture?

Of course, this is the worst case scenario. But let us remember where destabilize began in Kazakhstan. It started with the adoption of a law on religion, which was condemned by the West as anti-democratic, and which caused various extremist groups to issue statements of jihad to the Kazakh authorities. In one such statement the band calling themselves Jund al-Khalifa, commented a series of explosions in Kazakhstan: “The two explosions were a warning to the government … if in the future we will not see that they listened to our requirements, we swear … that the next attack will bring rivers of blood. ”

President Nazarbayev himself at the time gave a very accurate description of what was happening: “The experience of recent years proves against and again that terrorism is a product of very particular forces having a very specific purpose. Historically, modern terrorism has its roots in political and economic issues. It is strongly associated not only with transnational crime, drug trafficking and arms smuggling. Unfortunately, it also has geopolitical origins.”

So far, the situation in Kazakhstan is developing along a negative scenario and the trend is worsening. Ahead is the withdrawal of the international coalition forces from Afghanistan, with possible transfer of US military bases to other Central Asian republics, which will lead to the spread of extremism across the region. In this situation, it would be logical for Russian anti-terrorism experts to provide maximum support to Kazakh law enforcement forces, and indeed, this is taking place. However, Russia has its own set of problems with two carefully fueled regions – Dagestan and Tatarstan. This means that all of us are in for some very unsettling times.

Related articles

• Terrorists Lob Grenade Into Atyrau Interior Department, One Wounded (therearenosunglasses.wordpress.com)
• Five Killed In Kazakh Antiterror Operation (rferl.org)
• Atrau, Kazakhstan Anti-Terrorist Operation (therearenosunglasses.wordpress.com)
• Chinese, Kazakh Workers Clash In Atyrau (rferl.org)
• Murder and Terrorism In Ili-Alatau National Park, Near Almaty, Kazakhstan (therearenosunglasses.wordpress.com)
• Nine die in shootout near Kazakh financial capital (dailystar.com.lb)
• Overnight Blast Targets Interior Ministry In West Kazakhstan (rferl.org)
• Russia in the Grip of Terror: the Caucasus and elsewhere. (redivisionoftheworld.wordpress.com)

 

The Terrorists Have Come in Peace: Obama’s PR?

 

English: Obama Taliban (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

Note: The original of this article appeared on 11 September 2012, but its translation into English was delayed for technical reasons.

 

 

 

On the anniversary of the 9-11 terrorist attack in the US, Al-Qaeda, in the words of its leader’s brother, offered a truce to Western countries. A little earlier, a similar proposal was made by the representatives of the Taliban movement. Thus, America’s worst enemies, as if by agreement, have decided to present Barack Obama with a generous gift on the eve of the November 6^th presidential election. Will the Democratic candidate accept?

 

“Bury the hatchet,” suggested Muhammad Ayman al-Zawahiri,  brother to the current leader of Al-Qaeda. He is voluntarily willing to take on the role of mediator in negotiations and has even proposed an action plan. It fits nicely on six pages and contains information about how to completely resolve all disputes with the US within a decade. According to CNN, the mediator wants the US to stop invasion of Muslim countries, free imprisoned Muslims and not to interfere with the imposition of Sharia law. In turn, the radicals will say no to terror and will support the USA and other Western states in their countries.

 

Let’s face it, the proposed conditions seem to be quite acceptable for the United States. The continuation of wars is a painful drain on the US budget, while releasing convicted terrorists is a minor technical problem. Where imposition of Sharia law is concerned, the US no longer interferes anyway.

 

The Taliban provided an almost identical proposal. Recently it became known that some of its leaders  would like to negotiate peacefully and offered to cease fire as a sign of good will. The Taliban demands that the US does not interference in the political and religious life of Afghanistan, and in return the Taliban will be ready to cooperate with the US in all other areas. To the point that they would even be willing to allow all major US military bases to remain on its territory. Oh and another condition – absolutely no cooperation with Karzai.

 

It would seem that on the eve of presidential elections President Obama should be happy to receive these offers, as they would allow him to go down in history as the winner of two wars (in Afghanistan and against terrorism). But this will not happen. Firstly, because Obama simply does not have the time to solve global issues until the 6^th of November. Secondly, because it is absolutely unnecessary. Remember, this is not the first attempt to negotiate. For some reason, every time it looked as if some sort of accord was eminent, something ended up happening that completely destroyed any further progress. Either Al-Qaeda would blow something or someone one up, or the Marines would piss on corpses of the dead Taliban, or someone would burn the Quran.

 

And in any case, frankly, the terrorists’ true intentions are highly questionable. For example, in the case of the Taliban, the Western media refer to some “moderate members of the movement,” of whom no one knows anything. We also have doubts about this Muhammad Ayman al-Zawahiri character. There is absolutely no evidence of him having any influence over his brother. In addition, he spent the last 14 years in Egyptian prisons, and was released only recently, after the overthrowing of Mubarak. It is likely that he had contacts with the intelligence agencies of the West.

 

Thus, the whole story of “solutions you can’t refuse” looks more like Obama’s pre-election PR, rather than anything solid. Its purpose is to demonstrate Obama’s success in the fight against international terrorism, because its leaders appear to be literally on their knees, begging for peace. However, if we are wrong and the talks do take place and lead to eventual peace between the West and the Islamic world, for us it will be a very disturbing fact.

 

Related articles

 

• Brother of Al-Qaeda leader justifies 9/11 attacks, says group would strike at Israel if it could (timesofisrael.com)
• Exclusive: Al Qaeda leader’s brother offers peace plan (edition.cnn.com)
• Hailing ‘blessed’ 9/11 attacks, Al-Zawahiri tells Muslims to exploit US ‘weakness’ to purify their countries (timesofisrael.com)
• Al Qaeda’s Libyan Vengeance (thedailybeast.com)
• Zawahiri messages underline al Qaeda’s focus on Syria (security.blogs.cnn.com)

 

Weekly Review #42

http://www.youtube.com/watch?list=UUktvBSBd5HCj7U-uag5vfHA&v=o6RDVlLa8_M

Latest weekly video review from the Redivision of the World Project.

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• Weekly Review video #41 (redivisionoftheworld.wordpress.com)

Syria Sets Example for Merger of Russian Opposition and Islamists

Recent reports of members of the Russian opposition flirting with nationalists and radical Islamists tend to confuse our readers. What game is this? Trivially indiscriminate associations, or a carefully calculated move to bring together different factions in an attempt to overthrow the “regime”? Perhaps an act of desperation? Let us consider Syria as an example where the merger of opposition and Islamists is rapidly taking place.

It is no longer a secret that Al Qaeda and other radical Islamic gangs are fighting against Assad. It is also no secret that the “freedom fighters” are not a homogenous group but rather a patchwork mob made up of groups supporting different interests. The most renown is the so-called “Free Syrian Army” (FSA), which, while being sponsored by the West, is forced to act under the guise of fighting for democracy and protection of human rights in order to maintain this image in the eyes of Western voters.

But the trouble is, the worse things are for the FSA, the stronger the pressure from Assad’s forces, the more of its members stop their democratic masquerade and join ranks with the Islamists. And there are good reasons for this. Firstly, the radicals’ ideals are much clearer to the rebels than alien European slogans. Secondly, Islamists enjoy strong financial support from Wahhabi sponsors around the world. Thirdly, it is widely known that Islamist militants get regular troop support from Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Yemen and other countries. Incidentally, this largely explains the confusion with military victories of the government forces. Every other day we receive reports of the Syrian Army freeing yet another area of ​​Aleppo from militant forces, only to have it re-taken by a new rebel regiment within a matter of days. The stream of people looking to join ranks with the radicals does not dry out, which certainly enhances their credibility within the FSA. In other words, the West, which has been unable to help the rebels win the war over the last one and a half years, is rapidly losing out to Islamist assurances of their firm intent to build a Wahhabi emirate in Syria.

Today one of the Syrian insurgent groups known as Al-Kaakaa broke away from the FSA and its slogans of democracy to join the Dzhabhat en-Nusra Islamist group, giving a bayat (oath of allegiance) to its Emir.

Dzhabhat en-Nusra is a Syrian Wahhabi organization known for its bold terrorist attacks and other ruthless crimes. One of its most recent public actions was the execution of 13 government soldiers, which the group had taken prisoner earlier. The militants thusly commented their grisly deed:

“Indeed, this act of vengeance is not to be separated from the one before it, and we wish for its continuation, so that we would kill and shed their blood (just as they have shed our blood), and that they and their patrons know that, Allah permitting, they will face agonizing death, a terrible end (in this life), and a terrible fate on Judgment Day!”

We would like to remind readers that just a little earlier one of the insurgent Aleppo commanders warned the US:

“We do not want al-Qaeda here, but if no one will help us, we will join them. We want them [the Western countries] to give us weapons for protection, or to carry out a military intervention. We are angry. Syrian people still like European countries, but if they continue in the same spirit, they will know only hate.”

By the way, the aforementioned Syrian Dzhabhat en-Nusra enjoys great prestige and honors from the Russian Wahhabis, which have sharply intensified their activity in the republics of the North Caucasus and the Volga region.

Rumors continue to circulate that Russian citizens participate in the war against Assad. Thus recently Rustam Gelayev, son of the Chechen militant Ruslan Gelayev, who was destroyed by Russian border police in 2004, was killed in Syria. On the other hand, Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov denied Chechen involvement in the Syrian conflict, calling “Gelayev, Basayev and others” men without a homeland.

But lets turn back to the Russian “democratic opposition.” Note that its leaders made some demonstrative steps towards the Tatarstan separatists after passing of the new law on Foreign Agents, tougher penalties for rallies, and public allegations of links with the U.S. State Department. We doubt such actions by the opposition aim to intimidate their overseas sponsors, rather it looks like they are trying to blackmail the Russian government by threatening to merge in ecstasy with the separatists and the Wahhabis. On the other hand, perhaps they are just looking for some new faces to join their “march of millions.”

Weekly Video #42 – Preview

What is the bigger threat for Assad – chemical weapons or eggplant grenades? Is there an end to the Egyptian revolution? Why is Russia losing the fight against Wahhabism? All this and more in tomorrow’s edition of the Weekly Review.