The 2006 abduction of Russian diplomats in Iraq took place on June 3, 2006 in

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon. I ...

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...

when Iraqi insurgents ambushed a car belonging to the Russian Embassy. Vitaly Titov, (a security guard), was killed in the attack and the other four people in the car – Fyodor Zaitsev (the embassy

Third Secretary Diplomatic rank is a system of professional and social rank used in the world of diplomacy and international relations. A diplomat's rank determines many ceremonial details, such as the order of precedence at official processions, table seating ...

), Rinat Agliuglin (a cook), Oleg Fedoseyev (a security guard), and Anatoly Smirnov (a driver) – were abducted. On June 19, 2006, the Mujahedeen Shura Council, a group affiliated with al Qaeda, claimed responsibility for the attack and issuing an ultimatum to Russia to withdraw from Chechnya and release all Muslim prisoners within 48 hours. On June 25, the group issued a statement that it had beheaded three of the hostages and shot to death the fourth. The statement was accompanied by a video showing a few seconds of the beheading of one hostage, the beheaded corpse of a second hostage, and the shooting of a third. The execution of the fourth hostage is not shown.

Aftermath

On June 28,

Russian President The president of the Russian Federation ( rus, Президент Российской Федерации, Prezident Rossiyskoy Federatsii) is the head of state of the Russian Federation. The president leads the executive branch of the federal ...

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...

ordered Russian security services to locate and kill those responsible for the kidnapping and execution of the diplomats.

Nikolai Patrushev Nikolai Platonovich Patrushev (russian: Никола́й Плато́нович Па́трушев; born 11 July 1951) is a Russian politician, security officer and intelligence officer who has served as the secretary of the Security Council of ...

, the head of the Federal Security Service (FSB), the successor organisation of the

KGB The KGB (russian: links=no, lit=Committee for State Security, Комитет государственной безопасности (КГБ), a=ru-KGB.ogg, p=kəmʲɪˈtʲet ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)əj bʲɪzɐˈpasnəsʲtʲɪ, Komitet gosud ...

, noted that the order would be carried out regardless of the "time and effort" required. A similar order was believed to have been issued against

Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev Zelimkhan Abdulmuslimovich Yandarbiyev ( ce, Яндарбин Абдулмуслиман-кIант Зелимхан, romanized: ''Yandarbin Abdulmusliman-khant Zelimxan''; russian: link=no, Зелимхан Абдулмуслимович Я� ...

, the one-time

acting president An acting president is a person who temporarily fills the role of a country's president when the incumbent president is unavailable (such as by illness or a vacation) or when the post is vacant (such as for death, injury, resignation, dismissal ...

of the former

Chechen Republic of Ichkeria The Chechen Republic of Ichkeria (; ce, Нохчийн Республик Ичкери, Nóxçiyn Respublik Içkeri; russian: Чеченская Республика Ичкерия; abbreviated as "ChRI" or "CRI") was a ''de facto'' state that ...

. Yandarbiyev was killed by a bomb in

Doha Doha ( ar, الدوحة, ad-Dawḥa or ''ad-Dōḥa'') is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor, it is home to most of the count ...

Qatar Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it ...

in February 2004. However, Aleksandr Goltz, a

Russian military The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation (, ), commonly referred to as the Russian Armed Forces, are the military forces of Russia. In terms of active-duty personnel, they are the world's fifth-largest military force, with at least two m ...

expert, questioned the ability of Russian intelligence agencies to carry out the assassination order in a country mired in

civil war A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

. One of the kidnappers of the Russian diplomats was captured in December 2006. He admitted his involvement in the incident and is believed to have personally beheaded two of the diplomats. Another kidnapper was killed in October 2008. He is believed to have personally shot one of the hostages. Another kidnapper was sentenced to death in May 2010. The bodies of the four diplomats were found in 2012.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abduction Of Russian Diplomats In Iraq 2000s in Baghdad 2006 crimes in Iraq Kidnappings in Iraq Iraq–Russia relations Russian diplomats Terrorist incidents in Iraq in 2006 Terrorist incidents in Baghdad Crime in Baghdad