Russian authorities identified one of the female suicide bombers in last week’s deadly attacks in the Moscow subway as the teenage widow of a militant leader from the republic of Dagestan. Officials said Dzhanet Abdullayeva was the 17-year-old wife of Umalat Magomedov, the commander of Dagestani militants who was killed by the security services on New Year’s Eve. By identifying Abdullayeva as a bomber, authorities supported their earlier claim that militants from the North Caucasus were behind the March 29 attack that killed 40 people.

In an online video published on one of the militant websites on March 31, the leader of the North Caucasus militant underground, Doku Umarov, took responsibility for the Moscow bombings. The same day, another double suicide bombing occurred in Kizlyar, Dagestan, during which 12 police officers, including the city’s police chief, were killed. On Sunday, a double explosion derailed a freight train outside of Makhachkala, the capital of Dagestan. No casualties were reported in the train bombing.

In the midst of the Dagestani events Russian President Dmitry Medvedev made an unannounced visit to the republic on April 1 where he met with regional leaders and other high ranking officials, including the newly appointed envoy to the North Caucasus, Alexander Khloponin, to discuss the recent spate of terrorist attacks. Medvedev vowed to “track down” and “punish” those behind the bombings even as many critics and regional experts questioned the effectiveness of using harsh tactics to eliminate the Islamist network. Some observers pointed out that the terrorist attacks occurred despite a series of successful operations in recent weeks during which security forces killed two top-ranking militant leaders. Others cautioned that the use of indiscriminate force would only radicalize more members of the local population.

Related articles:

Russia says suicide bomber was militant’s widow
The New York Times, April 2, 2010

Russia’s Medvedev visits North Caucasus after bombings
Reuters, April 1, 2010

Bortnikov: organizers of terror acts in Moscow and Kizlyar are known
Caucasian Knot, April 1, 2010

Moscow metro bombing masterminds ‘will be destroyed’
BBC, March 29, 2010