Warning: Undefined array key "rbname" in /data/rantburg.com/www/pgrecentorg.php on line 14
Hello !

Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia

Georgia kills suspected leader of Istanbul attack

2017-12-02

Confirmation of speculation from a few days ago. [Al Jazeera] Georgian security services say they have killed the suspected criminal mastermind of the 2016 bombing of Istanbul's Ataturk Airport. Akhmed Chatayev was killed in a special operation in Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia, during which three other people also died. The 20-hour standoff ended with three suspects killed and one locked away Don't shoot, coppers! I'm comin' out! , while one officer was killed and four maimed. The identities of the other two slain suspects remained unclear. "The investigation is ongoing. We continue to work with our international partners to identify the other two," Nino Giorgobiani, the deputy chief of Georgia's state security service, told the Rooters news agency. Georgian authorities are looking into what the suspects were doing in Georgia and how they got there. Chatayev, a 37-year-old from Chechnya, was believed to have been a member of the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS, also known as ISIS) group. Interpol says that Chatayev was seen as one of the more senior Russian-speaking ISIS members, responsible for training and commanding at least 130 fighters. He lost his arm during the Second Chechen War, which took place between 1999 and 2009. In 2015, he moved to ISIS-controlled territory and was placed on a US Treasury sanctions list for planning attacks against US and Ottoman Turkish facilities. He was also put on a UN sanctions list, wanted by Russian authorities for "terrorist crimes committed in its territory", according to Interpol. Last year, Chatayev was named by Ottoman Turkish and American intelligence services as the criminal mastermind behind the 2016 bombing at Ataturk Airport in the Ottoman Turkish city of Istanbul. Three suspects fired automatic weapons and detonated boom jackets on June 28, 2016, killing 45 people and injuring more than 200.

Link

Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia

Istanbul airport bomber thought killed in Georgia

2017-11-30

[Reuters] A former Islamic State warlord suspected of masterminding a bloody attack on Istanbul airport in 2016 is believed to have been killed during a special operation in Georgia last week, three sources familiar with the case said. Akhmed Chatayev, an ethnic Chechen, is likely to have lost his life during a police operation against a group of armed men on the outskirts of Tbilisi last week, the sources said. One Georgian special forces serviceman and three members of the armed group were killed in the operation. Four police officers were injured and one member of the group was arrested during the 20-hour operation at the apartment block where the group was hiding. Nino Giorgobiani, deputy chief of the state security service, said that the final conclusions about the slain militant's identity would be reached after experts had completed their work and “the relevant United States agencies (had) joined the investigation.” "According to my information, Chatayev was there ... He blew himself up,” said one of the sources. Chatayev was named by Turkish media and a U.S. congressman as the mastermind of the suicide bombing of Istanbul airport in 2016 which killed 45 people. His involvement has not been confirmed by Turkish officials. A veteran of Chechnya's conflict with Moscow during which he lost an arm, he lived in Georgia’s Pankisi Gorge, a remote area populated largely by people from the Kist community, ethnic Chechens who came to mainly Christian Georgia in the 1800s. When Chechnya rose up in rebellion after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Kist community were drawn in. Thousands of refugees arrived from Chechnya, and some militants used the gorge to reassemble and prepare new attacks. Chatayev was injured and arrested in Georgia in August 2012 after a clash between the Georgian police and a group of rebels, who were allegedly trying to cross the Georgian-Russian border and move to Dagestan. He was released on bail and Georgian prosecutors dropped the case against him, citing a lack of evidence. After his release, Chatayev left Georgia, saying he intended to go to Austria to recover. By 2015, he had moved to Islamic State-controlled areas in Syria and Iraq.

Link

The Grand Turk

Istanbul Airport Attack Suspects on Trial over Terror

2017-11-14

[AnNahar] Forty-six suspects -- one third of them Russian nationals -- went on trial Monday in connection with last year's triple suicide kaboom of Istanbul's main airport, an attack that killed 45 people. They are accused of "attempting to destroy the constitutional order" and "murder", state-run Anadolu news agency reported. They are also charged with "membership of an armed terror group" and "forming and running a terror group," said the indictment. The grave offenses mean a potential record jail term -- up to 3,342 years -- if convicted. Anadolu said 42 of the accused, who had been under arrest, appeared in court at Silivri, outside Istanbul, in a hearing due to last four days. The other four suspects remain on the lam. Sixteen of the accused are Russian nationals and the others are Chechen, Tunisian, Egyptian, Algerian, Syrian and Ottoman Turkish. Those killed in the suicide kabooms at Ataturk Airport on June 28, 2016, included 19 foreigners and it was one of the worst attacks to rock The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... 's biggest city that year. No group has grabbed credit for the attack but Turkey says the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... group was behind the airport blasts. The court indictment also said IS "targeted the Ottoman Turkish republic." Two of the three assailants in the massacre were identified as Rakim Bulgarov and Vadim Osmanov, according to court papers which did not identify the third attacker. They are believed to be from Russia, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, and entered Turkey from Syria's Raqa, IS's then de-facto capital, a month before the airport atrocities. Ottoman Turkish media had previously identified the man who organized the attack as Akhmed Chatayev, the Chechen leader of an IS cell in Istanbul who reportedly found accommodation for the bombers. The attackers had scouted the airport three times, on June 3, 8 and 23, according to the indictment.

Link

The Grand Turk

Istanbul airport attack toll rises to 45

2016-07-03

[AlAhram] The death of a Jordanian child brought the toll from this week's Istanbul airport attack to 45, media reported Saturday, as a scare sparked fresh jitters in The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... 's biggest city.. Dogan news agency reported that four-year-old Jordanian national Rayyan Mohammed, one of more than 200 people injured in the attacks, had died in hospital. The Istanbul governor's office said 52 people were still in hospital, including 20 in intensive care. The child's death came as a man sparked chaos by shouting "Suicide bomber!" in a crowded Istanbul market on Saturday, with the city still reeling from the attacks. One woman was lightly injured in the panic in Umraniye, a working-class neighbourhood on Istanbul's Asian side. Police were called to the scene. Turkish media have identified a Chechen, Akhmed Chatayev, as the criminal mastermind of the attacks, describing him as the head of an IS cell in Istanbul. He is accused of planning two bombings in the city earlier this year in the Sultanahmet tourist district and the Istiklal shopping street, both of which killed foreigners.

Link

The Grand Turk

Turkey asks US to help capture alleged organizer of Istanbul terror attack

2016-07-03

Turkey's authorities have asked the United States to help capture an alleged mastermind behind the recent suicide bombing attack on the Istanbul Ataturk International Airport in Turkey, Akhmed Chatayev, The Wall Street Journal said Saturday, citing a senior US official. What exactly are we supposed to do? Three blasts hit the Ataturk Airport on Tuesday, leaving 44 people dead and 239 injured. Turkish media reported on Friday that two of the three suicide bombers were believed to have Russian passports. According to the US official, US intelligence services have informed Turkey that Chatayev was behind the triple bombing. However, Turkish authorities have not yet confirmed Chatayev's involvement. Chechen man Chatayev, lived in Georgia where he received country's citizenship before leaving for Syria in 2015.

Link

Europe

Mastermind of Istanbul Airport Attack Had Been Georgian Informant, Official Says

2016-07-02

DESSA, Ukraine -- Sometimes the world of terror and counter terror is amazingly small. The day after at least 43 people were killed and more than 235 injured in a terrorist attack on Istanbul’s international airport, Turkish officials announced the arrest of the alleged mastermind behind the attack: Akhmed Chatayev, an ethnic Chechen from Russia who, in the past, had traveled extensively in Ukraine, Austria and Georgia. Here in the Black Sea port of Odessa, in Ukraine, Police Chief Gen. Giorgi Lortkipanidze knows all about Chatayev. The general used to be the deputy interior minister in Georgia, and for a while, he says, had Chatayev on the government payroll. "A few years ago I recruited Chatayev, who was a good informer and negotiator between us and Islamist underground of the Northern Caucasus; with his help we prevented several terrorist attacks on Georgia," Gen. Lortkipanidze told The Daily Beast in an exclusive interview on Friday. The trusted 'source' as a double agent? How long until a Tsarnaev connection is also discovered ? More on the same fella from Gateway Pundit.

Link

The Grand Turk

Istanbul airport attack organizer a known wolf

2016-07-02

[IsraelTimes] The suicide kaboomers who launched the deadly Istanbul airport assault were planning to take dozens of passengers hostage, Turkish media reported Friday, as two of the bombers were identified. State-run news agency Anadolu said 24 people were tossed into the calaboose in Istanbul in a string of raids over the attack, including 15 foreigners. Citing a prosecution source, the agency named two of the attackers as Rakim Bulgarov and Vadim Osmanov, without giving their nationalities. Officials had previously said the three bombers were a Russian, an Uzbek and a Kyrgyz national. Police had also found a damaged laptop in a dustbin near an Istanbul apartment used by the attackers and were trying to retrieve information from it, Anadolu added. ‘Number one enemy’ Turkish media identified the strike’s organizer as Akhmed Chatayev, the Chechen leader of an IS cell in Istanbul who reportedly found accommodation for the bombers. Chatayev allegedly organized two deadly bombings this year in the heart of the city’s Sultanahmet tourist district and the busy Istiklal shopping street, the Hurriyet newspaper said. Michael McCaul, chairman of the US House Committee on Homeland Security, described Chatayev as "probably the number one enemy in the Northern Caucasus region of Russia." "He’s travelled to Syria on many occasions and became one of the top lieutenants for the minister of war for ISIS operations," McCaul told CNN. Swedish court documents seen by AFP showed the 36-year-old had been sentenced to 16 months in jail there in 2008 for arms trafficking, after which he would be deported. He was granted political asylum in Austria in 2003. The pro-government Sabah newspaper reported that the attackers scouted the scene and planned to take dozens of passengers hostage inside before carrying out a massacre. But they began the assault early after attracting suspicion, Sabah said. CCTV images released by police show the three alleged attackers arriving, wearing dark coats over their boom jackets -- clothing that was much too heavy for a hot summer night. More images show a plainclothes police officer confronting one of the men and asking to see his identification. The attacker pulls out a gun and shoots him.

Link

The Grand Turk

Istanbul bombers from Russia and central Asia

2016-07-01

Three foreign nationals – a Russian, an Uzbek and a Kyrgyz – carried out the shooting and triple suicide bombing at Atatürk airport in Istanbul, Turkish officials have said, but questions remain over security shortcomings that allowed the attackers to breach several control points and kill 43 people. Turkish authorities, including the president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, believe Isis was responsible for the attack on Europe’s third-busiest airport on Tuesday evening, the deadliest in a string of killings and explosions that have shaken the country this year. There has been no claim of responsibility. Turkish police have identified one of the attackers as Osman Vadinov, a Chechen from Dagestan who reportedly entered Turkey on his Russian passport about a month ago. Police said he had entered Turkey from Raqqa, the Isis stronghold in Syria, at least once before in 2015 and is suspected to have had links to jihadi cells inside Turkey. The pro-government Yeni Safak newspaper claimed that the man suspected of being the organiser of the attack was an Isis commander of Chechen origin called Akhmed Chatayev, described by the US Treasury Department as “the commander of the Yarmouk Battalion, a Chechen faction of [Isis].” Chatayev is said to be responsible for the recruiting and training of Russian-speaking Isis militants and was added to the US government’s list of specially designated global terrorists in 2015. He is wanted by the Russian government.

Link

The Grand Turk

Istanbul attack planner reportedly identified as Chechen ISIS trainer

2016-06-30

[FoxNews] A Chechen terrorist responsible for training Russian-speaking Lions of Islam for ISIS is believed to be the planner of Tuesday’s deadly Istanbul airport massacre that killed 43, according to Turkish media. Akhmed Chatayev was identified on a UN sanctions list as an ISIS leader and was wanted by Russian authorities, Rooters reported citing the pro-government Yeni Safak newspaper. Chatayev had been wanted for links to terrorism since 2008, Russia Today reported, citing Russian news agency Ria Novosti. Another attacker, also Chechen, was named as Osman Vadinov by the Hurriyet newspaper. Vadinov reportedly arrived in The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... in 2015 from Raqqa, the Syrian capital of ISIS’ so-called caliphate. Turkish officials did not confirm either Chatayev or Vadinov as being involved in the attack. Turkish police on Thursday linked the airport jacket wallahs to Russia, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, and rounded up 13 more suspects in connection with the attack. State-run Anadolu Agency said the raids were carried out in Istanbul's Pendik, Basaksehir and Sultanbeyli neighborhoods, which span the city's Asian and European sides. Police seized three hunting rifles and documents relating to ISIS. In separate large-scale police operations, nine suspects believed to be linked to ISIS were also detained in the coastal city of Izmir. It was not clear if the suspects had any links to the carnage at the airport. The report said the suspects were in contact with ISIS Death Eaters in Syria and were engaged in "activities that were in line with the organization's aims and interests," including providing financial sources, recruits and logistical support. Days before the Istanbul attack, on June 25, security forces killed two suspected Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... Death Eaters who were trying to cross the border illegally and ignored orders from security forces to stop, according to local media reports. One of the two Death Eaters was wanted by The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... on suspicion that he would carry out suicide kabooms in the capital Ankara or in the southern city of Adana, Anadolu said.

Link

The Grand Turk

Istanbul Airport Bombers Were RU, Uzbek, Kyrgyz Nationals, Turkish Official Sez

2016-06-30

ISTANBUL, June 30 (Reuters) - Three suspected Islamic State suicide bombers who killed 42 people in a gun and bomb attack at Istanbul airport this week were from Russia, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, a Turkish government official said on Thursday. The attack on Europe's third-busiest airport was the deadliest in a series of suicide bombings in Turkey this year. The three bombers opened fire to create panic outside, before two of them got inside the terminal building and blew themselves up. The third detonated his explosives at the entrance. A further 239 people were wounded. The official gave no further details beyond confirming the attackers' nationalities and declined to be named because details of the investigation have not yet been released. Investigators had been struggling to identify the bombers from their limited remains, officials said earlier. "A medical team is working around the clock to conclude the identification process," one of the officials said. The pro-government Yeni Safak newspaper said the Russian bomber was from Dagestan, which borders Chechnya, where Moscow has led two wars against separatists and religious militants since the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991. The Kyrgyz security service declined to comment, while the Uzbek security service could not immediately be reached. Turkish police detained 13 people, three of them foreigners, in raids across Istanbul in connection with Tuesday night’s attack. Counter-terrorism teams led by police special forces launched simultaneous raids at 16 locations in the city, two officials told Reuters. Turkish authorities have said they believe Islamic State was behind the airport attack. Yeni Safak said the organizer of the attack was suspected to be a man called Akhmed Chatayev, of Chechen origin. Chatayev is identified on a United Nations sanctions list as a leader in Islamic State responsible for training Russian-speaking militants, and as wanted by Russian authorities. The Hurriyet newspaper named one of the attackers as Osman Vadinov, also Chechen, and said he had come from Raqqa, the heart of Islamic State-controlled territory in Syria. Turkish officials did not confirm to Reuters that either Chatayev or Vadinov were part of the investigation.

Link

Warning: Undefined property: stdClass::$T in /data/rantburg.com/www/pgrecentorg.php on line 132
-10 More