GCIS INTELLIGENCE BRIEFING: Chechen rebel leader Doku Umarov claims responsibility for Moscow airport attack

ISSUED BY: GCIS Communications Command Center

SOURCE: Christian Science Monitor

08February2011 10:19amEST

GCIS INTELLIGENCE UPDATE: Chechen rebel leader Doku Umarov claimed responsibility for last month’s deadly bombing of Moscow's Domodedovo Airport in a video posted online late Monday. The video of Russia’s most-wanted criminal was the second to surface in the past few days, stoking fears of further acts of terrorism by radical Caucasus groups.

Mr. Umarov said in the video that he ordered the Jan. 24 attack on Russia’s largest airport, which killed 36 people and injured 180, and warned that more bombings will follow if Russia does not grant the Caucasus independence.

"You see this special operation carried out by my order ... more special operations will be carried out in the future," Mr. Umarov said in the video, as translated from Russian by the Associated Press. (read full report)

 

 

"GCIS INTELLIGENCE UPDATE" is an intelligence briefing presented by Griffith Colson Intelligence Service, and provided to the public for informative purposes only. All subject matter is credited to it's source of origin, and is not intended to represent original content authored by GCIS, it's advertisers or affiliates. All opinions presented are those of the author, and not necessarily those of GCIS or it's partners.

GCIS INTELLIGENCE BRIEFING: Russia loses new military satellite

ISSUED BY: GCIS Communications Command Center

SOURCE: GlobalSecurity.org

02February2011 4:29pmEST

GCIS INTELLIGENCE UPDATE:  MOSCOW, (RIA Novosti) - Russia has most likely lost a new dual-purpose geodesic satellite after it failed to reach a designated circular orbit 1,000 kilometers (600 miles) above Earth.

The GEO-IK-2 satellite, designed to create a detailed three-dimensional map of the Earth and help the Russian military to locate the precise positions of various targets, was launched Tuesday on board a Rockot carrier rocket from the Plesetsk space center in northern Russia.

The spacecraft failed to communicate with Russia's Ground Control at a designated time but was reportedly "discovered" by U.S. space monitoring services, moving along an elliptical orbit whose lowest point brought it to within 330 kilometers (205 miles) of Earth. (read full report)

 

 

 

"GCIS INTELLIGENCE UPDATE" is an intelligence briefing presented by Griffith Colson Intelligence Service, and provided to the public for informative purposes only. All subject matter is credited to it's source of origin, and is not intended to represent original content authored by GCIS, it's advertisers or affiliates. All opinions presented are those of the author, and not necessarily those of GCIS or it's partners.

GCIS INTELLIGENCE BRIEFING: Spam Text Message Detonates Suicide Bomber, Prevents Moscow Attack

ISSUED BY: GCIS Communications Command Center

SOURCE: Switched

28January2011 1:59pmEST

GCIS INTELLIGENCE UPDATE: Russia avoided a potentially devastating suicide bomb attack last month, thanks to one particularly well-timed text message.

According to Russian security sources, the attack was supposed to be carried out by an unnamed woman, believed to be part of a radical Islamist terror group. The woman reportedly planned to strap a bomb to herself, and blow herself up in the middle of a crowded Moscow square on New Year's Eve. Like many other devices used in suicide bomb attacks, the explosives attached to this particular bomber were designed to detonate in response to a text message. The woman was to walk into the square, place herself in a crowded area, and wait for one of her accomplices to send the text that would blow her up. The only problem, though, was that she forgot to turn off her phone. (read full report)

GCIS INTELLIGENCE BRIEFING: Soft Targets:The Moscow Attack and Airport Security

ISSUED BY: GCIS Communications Command Center

SOURCE: Right Side News

28January2011 1:42pmEST

GCIS INTELLIGENCE UPDATE: The Jan. 24 bombing at Moscow’s Domodedovo International Airport killed 35 people and injured more than 160. The attack occurred at approximately 4:40 p.m. as passengers from several arriving international flights were leaving the airport after clearing immigration and customs. The attacker (or attackers; reports are still conflicting over whether the attack was conducted by a man or a man and a woman together) entered the international arrivals hall of the airport, a part of the facility that is outside the secure area and that is commonly packed with crowds of relatives and taxi and limo drivers waiting to meet travelers.

Once the attacker was in the midst of the waiting crowd and exiting passengers, the improvised explosive device that he (or she) carried was detonated. It is not clear at this point whether the device was command-detonated by the attacker as a traditional suicide bomb or if the device was remotely detonated by another person. The attack was most likely staged by Islamist militants from Russia’s Northern Caucasus region who have conducted a long series of attacks in Russia, including the Aug. 24, 2004, suicide bombings that destroyed two Russian airliners.

The Domodedovo attack serves as a striking illustration of several trends we have been following for years now, including the difficulty of preventing attacks against soft targets, the resourcefulness of militants in identifying such targets and the fixation militants have on aviation-related targets.  (read full report)

GCIS INTELLIGENCE BRIEFING: Woman terrorist may be behind Moscow airport bombing

Video shows woman, accompanied by man, opening suitcase right prior to explosion; Officials say attack done in North Caucasus scheme

ISSUED BY: GCIS Communications Command Center

SOURCE: JPOST

25January2011 12:05pmEST

GCIS INTELLIGENCE UPDATE: The terror attack that was carried out at Moscow's Domodedovo Airport Monday may have been caused by two suicide bombers, one female, a law enforcement source said to official Russian news outlet Ria Novostri. According to the source "The blast occurred when a suspected female terrorist opened a bag. She was accompanied by a man whose head was ripped off by the explosion."

Both bombers died in the explosion that ripped through the international baggage-claim at 4:32 p.m., killing 35 and wounding up to 170 people.  The blast, which was equivalent to 5 kilograms of TNT, was packed with shrapnel to cause the most possible damage.

"The terror attack was done according to a scheme that is used by terrorists from the North Caucasus region," the law enforcement source added. "The [2004] blasts at the Rizhskaya subway station and other explosions in the Moscow metro [2010] were carried out similarly, when the terrorists were accompanied by militants."  (read full report)

GCIS INTELLIGENCE BRIEFING: Medvedev: Russia needs Israeli-style security

ISSUED BY: GCIS Communications Command Center

SOURCE: BBC

25January2011 10:05amEST

GCIS INTELLIGENCE UPDATE: Dmitry Medvedev spoke out the day after a bomber detonated an estimated 7kg (15lb) of TNT at Domodedovo airport, killing 35 people and injuring 110.

He blamed airport officials for "clear security breaches", and called for sackings if negligence was proved.

Militant groups from the North Caucasus are suspected of planning the attack.

Speaking to security officers in televised remarks, Mr Medvedev said terrorism was the most serious threat facing Russia today.

He called for those responsible to be hunted down and their organisations "eliminated".

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin also took a hard line, saying that "retribution is inevitable".

"This was an abominable crime in both its senselessness and its cruelty," he said, offering government help to the families of those affected.  (read full report)
 

GCIS INTELLIGENCE BRIEFING: Severed head found at Moscow airport thought to belong to suicide bomber

ISSUED BY: GCIS Communications Command Center

SOURCE: FOX NEWS

25January2011 8:22amEST

CIS INTELLIGENCE UPDATE:  (NewsCore) - The severed head of a suspected suicide bomber was located Monday after a massive bomb ripped through a bustling Russian airport, killing at least 35 people and injuring dozens more.

The explosion brought devastation to the arrivals hall of Domodedovo Airport, the busiest of Moscow's three airports, at 4:32pm local time.

Law enforcement officials told the RIA Novosti news agency that the bomb, which was detonated close to a cafe, had the equivalent power of five kilos (11 lbs) of TNT. It was packed with metal objects to maximize the potential damage.

Sky News reported that a British citizen, and possibly a second, were killed, citing the Russian Prosecutor's Office. An Italian and a Frenchman were among the estimated 130 people injured, 20 of whom were gravely ill, Russian media said.

"Burned people are running about ... they are carrying pieces of flesh on stretchers," a shaken eyewitness named Andrei was quoted as saying by AFP.

"Me and my colleague were thrown against the wall, we were hit hard. We were only saved by the fact that there were a lot of people around us," said rental company worker Alexei Spiridonov.

"We jumped up and tried to help [the] wounded. Body parts lay around, there was blood everywhere. It was an awful picture," he told Russia's LifeNews

News reports in Russia suggested the atrocity was the work of one, or possibly two, suicide bombers who may have had assistance from several accomplices.

The Interfax news agency said that a severed head found at the bomb site, a "meet and greet" area accessible to the public, was believed to be that of the bomber.

"We found the head of a man of Arab appearance, aged 30 to 35. It seems he detonated the explosive device," a law enforcement source told the agency.

Further Russian reports said that three men were being hunted by authorities, who described the bombing as an "act of terror." (read full report)

GCIS INTELLIGENCE BRIEFING: Report: At Least 23 Dead in Explosion in Moscow’s Busiest Airport

ISSUED BY: GCIS Communications Command Center

SOURCE: FOX NEWS

24January2011 9:25pmEST

GCIS INTELLIGENCE UPDATE:  A witness to the massive explosion that killed at least 35 people at Moscow's busiest airport Monday says he saw a man carrying a flaming suitcase seconds before the blast.

Artyom Zhilenkov, a 35-year-old driver, told The Associated Press he was just a few yards away from the explosion and saw a man who may have been the bomber.

"I saw the suitcase, the suitcase was on fire. So, either the man blew up something, or something went off on the man's body, or the suitcase went off." said Zhilenkov, whose clothes were soaked in blood.

"The guy standing next to me was torn to pieces," he added.

Russian officials put the death toll at 31 and said nearly 170 people were injured in the explosion Monday afternoon, while an airport spokesman reported 35 dead and about 46 wounded.

(read full report)