The October 2013 Volgograd bus bombing was a

suicide bombing A suicide attack is any violent attack, usually entailing the attacker detonating an explosive, where the attacker has accepted their own death as a direct result of the attacking method used. Suicide attacks have occurred throughout histor ...

which occurred on 21 October 2013 on a bus in the city of

Volgograd Volgograd ( rus, Волгогра́д, a=ru-Volgograd.ogg, p=vəɫɡɐˈɡrat), geographical renaming, formerly Tsaritsyn (russian: Цари́цын, Tsarítsyn, label=none; ) (1589–1925), and Stalingrad (russian: Сталингра́д, Stal ...

, in the

Volgograd Oblast Volgograd Oblast (russian: Волгогра́дская о́бласть, ''Volgogradskaya oblast'') is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject (an oblast) of Russia, located in the Volga region, Volga region of Southern Russia. Its adminis ...

Southern Russia Southern Russia or the South of Russia (russian: Юг России, ''Yug Rossii'') is a colloquial term for the southernmost geographic portion of European Russia generally covering the Southern Federal District and the North Caucasian Federal ...

. The attack was perpetrated by a female suicide bomber named Naida Sirazhudinovna Asiyalova (russian: Наида Сиражудиновна Асиялова), who detonated an

explosive belt An explosive belt (also called suicide belt or a suicide vest) is an improvised explosive device, a belt or a vest packed with explosives and armed with a detonator, worn by suicide bombers. Explosive belts are usually packed with ball bearings, ...

containing 500–600 grams of

TNT Trinitrotoluene (), more commonly known as TNT, more specifically 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene, and by its preferred IUPAC name 2-methyl-1,3,5-trinitrobenzene, is a chemical compound with the formula C6H2(NO2)3CH3. TNT is occasionally used as a reagen ...

inside a bus carrying approximately 50 people—predominantly students. The suicide bombing killed seven civilians and injured at least 36 others.

Perpetrators

The bombing was committed by Naida Asiyalova, a 30-year-old fugitive from the

Republic of Dagestan Dagestan ( ; rus, Дагеста́н, , dəɡʲɪˈstan, links=yes), officially the Republic of Dagestan (russian: Респу́блика Дагеста́н, Respúblika Dagestán, links=no), is a republics of Russia, republic of Russia sit ...

. Asiyalova was the wife of Dmitry Sokolov, a 21-year-old Russian explosives expert and convert to Islam who originally hailed from

Krasnoyarsk Krasnoyarsk ( ; rus, Красноя́рск, a=Ru-Красноярск2.ogg, p=krəsnɐˈjarsk) (in semantic translation - Red Ravine City) is the largest city and administrative center of Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia. It is situated along the Yeni ...

, although shortly before he had converted to Islam, his family had relocated to

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

. Following his conversion to Islam, Sokolov adopted the name Abdul Jabbar. Asiyalova was originally from

Makhachkala Makhachkala ( rus, Махачкала, , məxətɕkɐˈla, links=yes),; av, Махӏачхъала, Maħaçqala; ce, ХӀинжа-ГӀала, Hinƶa-Ġala; az, Маһачгала, Mahaçqala; nog, Махачкала; lbe, Махачкъала; ...

, the capital city of Dagestan in the

North Caucasus The North Caucasus, ( ady, Темыр Къафкъас, Temır Qafqas; kbd, Ишхъэрэ Къаукъаз, İṩxhərə Qauqaz; ce, Къилбаседа Кавказ, Q̇ilbaseda Kavkaz; , os, Цӕгат Кавказ, Cægat Kavkaz, inh, ...

. It is believed that in the year prior to their deaths, Asiyalova converted Sokolov to a more radical form of Islam, and persuaded him to join Dagestan militants. He was reported missing by his family in July 2012 after he failed to return home from

Arabic language Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

courses that he attended at a Moscow mosque. Prior to the Volgograd bus bombing, he had been linked to two non-fatal explosions which had injured 29 people.

Attack

The suicide belt worn by Asiyalova was constructed by Sokolov, and it is believed the attack upon the bus in Volgograd was originally expected to take place in Moscow, as she had a ticket to travel to the capital on her possession at the time of the explosion. The fact Russian security agencies had been actively monitoring her for suspected terror links may have led to her choosing to detonate her suicide belt upon the bus instead. The explosive device was detonated by Asiyalova less than one minute after she had boarded the bus. In response, authorities from the

declared three days of mourning. Members of the public donated blood for the victims of the blast. On 22 October, the People's Republic of China condemned the bombing.

Death of Dmitry Sokolov

On 16 November 2013,

Russian security forces Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries * Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and pe ...

killed five

insurgents An insurgency is a violent, armed rebellion against authority waged by small, lightly armed bands who practice guerrilla warfare from primarily rural base areas. The key descriptive feature of insurgency is its asymmetric nature: small irreg ...

, including Dmitry Sokolov, in a village close to Makhachkala. Prior to his death at the hands of Russian security services, Sokolov admitted to constructing the suicide belt and organizing the bombing, and was subsequently killed in a gunfight after refusing to surrender to the security services.

Victims

* Viktoria Koneva (20) * Maksim Letkov (16) * Kirill Litvinenko (18) * Yelena Mikhailova (29) * Maria Popadinets (18) * Yulia Prikhodchenko (22) * Tatyana Vereshchagina (59)

References

External links