Investigators identified the "brain" of the terrorist group responsible for the bombings of two houses in Moscow on September 9 and 13, which resulted in 210 deaths.
The identified person, Achimez Gochiev, is described by investigators as a Caucasian adherent of Wahhabism, a radical Islamic movement associated with the rebels who launched an offensive against Dagestan in August.
Progress in Terrorist Attack Investigations
Parallel to threats of war, investigators in the case of the terrorist attacks after August 31 appear to be making progress.
Publicly released elements point to Islamic forces deployed in battle in Dagestan.
Police estimates indicate that one of the principal organizers of the Moscow bombings has been identified: a man of Caucasian origin and a militant Wahhabi.
A dozen other suspects have allegedly been identified.
According to NTV television, the bombings were organized by the same group, which was formed in an Islamic school in Tatarstan (a Russian republic with a Muslim majority) and subsequently sent to the training center of "Major" Khattab in Chechnya.
In Moscow, excavations and security checks are ongoing.
Investigators highlighted the logistics and professionalism of the terrorists:
Tons of explosives were to be transported by trucks.
Locations were rented several weeks before the attacks.
Concealed explosive material was used.
The FSB (ex-KGB) estimated that the bomb that exploded on Thursday at the doorstep of a house in Volgodonsk, killing 16 people, had a power equivalent to at least 850 kg of TNT.
Political Commentary on the Conflict
09/25/99. Russians are bombing Grozny; the headquarters is preparing for a ground offensive.
Denouncing the "party of war and generals in Moscow," deputy and human rights defender Sergei Kovalev estimated: "these bombings are another step toward a new war, which will mean the almost complete destruction of Chechnya" (Francois Bonnet and Agathe Duparc).
Deployment of Military Operations
Moscow accuses Chechnya of serving as a rear base for supporting the Islamist militants of Shamil Basaev and "Major" Khattab, who were preparing new operations in the neighboring Republic of Dagestan.
Russian authorities also accuse them of being the commanders of a series of terrorist attacks in Russia that have caused 292 deaths since August 31.
Sergei Kovalev estimated: "These bombings are another step toward a new war, which will mean the almost complete destruction of Chechnya and its population."
Kovalev, a deputy and principled opponent of the 1994-1996 war, denounced the "party of war and generals" looming over Moscow.
He added, "The Kremlin may find in this conflict a justification for its huge mistake of 1994-1996 and think that this ultra-patriotism will fix the situation."
False Alarm in Ryazan
09/28/99. Strange false alarm regarding a bomb in Ryazan (A.Du.).
Nikolai Patrushev, director of the FSB (secret services), explained on television on Friday, September 24, that the "three bags of explosives" discovered on Wednesday, September 22, in the basement of a residential building in Ryazan contained "nothing but sugar."
Patrushev added that "It was an exercise designed to test the vigilance of law enforcement forces and the population."
In the evening, Alexander Zdanovich, his press secretary, apologized to the population, congratulating the 240 "guinea pigs" of the test house, who were forced to spend a night of horror in a nearby cinema.
The "fake bomb" of Ryazan once again raised speculative theories about the possible involvement of the Russian secret services in the "real" explosions.
In weekend editions, most Russian newspapers questioned this incident. The newspaper "Segodnya" echoed a possible version of the "incident": "Their counterintelligence people planted a 'bomb' in the basement [of the house in Ryazan] so that at a favorable moment they could 'thwart the plans' for an explosion and reap the laurels. But this scenario did not work. Residents noticed the 'terrorists,' the local police intervened (...) the FSB leaders were then forced to talk about exercises."