World for the Week No. 1 (August 28 - September 4, 1999)

"TWO WEEKS AGO THEY WERE ALREADY LOOKING FOR A BOMB HERE?!"

Komsomolskaya Pravda responded to the explosion at the "Okhotny Ryad" shopping center, which injured 41 people last Tuesday.

The newspaper published the testimony of Lyudmila Ogroperidze, a salesperson at the "Chasy" (Watches) outlet, which "radically" changed the picture of the crime: two weeks prior, the first call from terrorists rang out there.

"That day, as usual, I arrived 10 minutes before the opening of Okhotny Ryad. But inside at that time, something incomprehensible was happening. Escalators were working, firefighters were running across all floors, some people in civilian clothes, our security. Even a dog flashed by. A rumor about some call regarding a bomb still spread."

Correspondents from "Kommersant" found Dmitry Pimenov, leader of the Union of Revolutionary Writers, suspected of involvement in the terrorist attack on Manezhnaya Square, before the special services did (leaflets were found at the central entrance to the underground structure, stating on behalf of the SRP that "every normal revolutionary terrorist act creates a new living space..."). Pimenov disappointed the "Ъ" correspondents: "I have nothing to do with this explosion." Perhaps, "Kommersant" concludes, the "writer" version was deliberately launched by the special services in the media to disorient the real terrorists or in case quick investigation results were demanded (Pimenov, so to speak, was at hand).

The Director of the Federal Security Service of Russia, Colonel-General Nikolai Patrushev, in the pages of "Nezavisimaya Gazeta," expressed confidence that the explosion on Manezhnaya was "extremist or hooligan manifestations." At the same time, he voiced for the first time the amount of damage suffered by "Okhotny Ryad" — 500 thousand US dollars.

"Vechernyaya Moskva" reports on another emergency. At the Paveletsky railway station, a police officer noticed a suspicious package. A specially trained dog confirmed the suspicions, and then the signal was passed to explosives specialists from the FSB. The movement of electric trains on the sixth and adjacent tracks was stopped, passengers...

ALEXANDER RASKIN

Technology of Terrorist Attacks

According to FSB data, Chechens continue to send saboteurs to Russia

Law enforcement agencies in various regions of Russia are catching sabotage groups that were preparing explosions of residential buildings. This was stated at yesterday's press conference by the head of the FSB Public Relations Center, Alexander Zdanovich.

However, as Mr. Zdanovich stated, it is important for detectives to find not only the terrorists themselves, but also the sources of their financing.

Key Findings on Financing and Involvement:

• An Egyptian native, El-Laban Said, currently on the international wanted list, was involved in the Moscow terrorist attacks.
• El-Laban Said married a Russian citizen, took Russian citizenship, and organized the "Zam-Zam" company in Moscow, through which he financed bandits.
• Operational data indicates that in early 1999, El-Laban Said personally visited Grozny, where he handed over 200 thousand dollars to Shamil Basayev for the preparation and implementation of terrorist attacks.
• After the explosions in Moscow, he left Russia.

Detentions and Suspect Profiles:

Some of the criminals involved in the sabotage have already been detained.

• UFSB for North Ossetia investigators charged members of a sabotage group:
  • Nikolai Miroshkin (29 years old)
  • Igor Epryntsev (21 years old)
• According to Mr. Zdanovich, both detainees were on the federal wanted list.

Details on Detainees:
* Nikolai Miroshkin: Wanted since November 1997 for robbery. He hid, arrived in Grozny in December 1997, lived there for over a year, and converted to Islam. In March 1999, he underwent military training in a camp of field commander Khattab.
* Igor Epryntsev: Ran away from home and was declared missing in February 1999. In April, he arrived in Urus-Martan and ended up in the camp of field commander Baggautdin. In May, Epryntsev was sent to a sabotage school headed by field commander Abdurakhman.

Plot Details:

• Meeting and Training: According to Mr. Zdanovich, the criminals met in early summer in the Chechen city of Urus-Martan. They served in the "Kavkaz" battalion of the Islamic army after training in camps.
• Mission Assignment: At the end of August, when most of Abu-Said's militants were fighting in Dagestan, the field commander tasked Miroshkin and Epryntsev with going to Vladikavkaz to prepare a terrorist act.
• Target Selection: They lived in the city for three weeks and chose the "Falloy" market as the explosion site, noting that several thousand people visit it daily.
• Execution Attempt: On September 23, the criminals bought a GAZ-53 truck with North Ossetian license plates from a resident of Vladikavkaz and headed to Chechnya. Their plan was to plant about a ton of explosives in the back of the car in Urus-Martan.
• Explosives Source: The explosives were manufactured at a mini-factory located on Chechen territory (operatives noted that some components were also used for the apartment bombings in Moscow).
• Interception: The terrorists planned to return to Vladikavkaz and detonate the timer, leaving the truck near a market pavilion. However, Miroshkin and Epryntsev were detained on the border of North Ossetia and Chechnya, en route to Urus-Martan.

Additional Incident:

Alexander Zdanovich also reported that a few days prior in Pyatigorsk, Chekists detained the leader of another sabotage group, Musavanov.

• Musavanov's Unit: He stated his unit included six professional sapper-demolitionists trained in Khattab's camps.
• Planned Action: In early October, they arrived in Pyatigorsk to organize five explosions.
• Incident: On October 5, during the mining of a house, the bomb spontaneously exploded, killing the sapper. Two other terrorists were injured.
• Current Status: According to Musavanov, the surviving members of the group are now hiding in the Stavropol Territory