Very interesting report on the conflict in Ingushetia, neighbor of Chechnya, which by this account is turning into just a threat for Russian federation forces as Chechnya was in the recent past. We follow Maksharip Aushev in his describing of the situation in his country as insurgents Russian forces for independence. He tells the story of his own son being rounded up off of a train by Russian intelligence for choosing not to become an informant. He goes on to report that this is a common occurrence in Ingushetia. He organized a rally in protest of these extra-judicial kidnappings and the men were freed, only to find himself in prison for six months.

This video shows a lot of insurgent footage of both Chechen and Ingush mujahideen fighters taking up arms both in Chechnya and Ingushetia against the Russians. In all, a good video that shows how the Chechen War has spilled over into bordering states of the Russian Federation, a clear sign that the conflict is far from over and more Muslim and non muslims are willing to continue the struggle at any cost.

Once again I can only infer much of what is going on in this video from the title we are provided by whoever uploaded it. All we can see is Chechen Rebels, some very Arabic looking, are praying in white BDU’s to camoflauge them in the snow, before they sneak up on Russian security forces position and start a firefight. We do not see much in terms of effectiveness of this attack, just the Rebels firing on non visible targets to the camera. It ends with them pulling back with what seems like no casualties whatsover.

Movsar Buharovich Barayev (Russian: Мовсар Бухарович Бараев) (October 26, 1979 - October 26, 2002), earlier known as Suleimanov, was a Chechen terrorist and militia leader during the Second Chechen War, who led the seizure of a Moscow theater that led to the deaths of over 170 people.

Movsar Barayev, born 1979, was the nephew of the notorious Chechen warlord Arbi Barayev who allegedly worked under FSB guidance.^[1] After his uncle’s death in June 2001 until his own, Movsar was the leader of a Chechen terrorist militia known as the Special Purpose Islamic Brigade (SPIR).^[2] Barayev junior was said to be a sworn enemy of the Chechen leader and elected president, Aslan Maskhadov.^[3] He used the nom-de-guerre of “Yassir”.

He was falsely announced by the command of the Russian forces in Chechnya to have been killed on August 21, 2001, and again on October 12, 2002, eleven days prior to the Moscow theater crisis (this report of Barayev’s death came from Colonel Boris Podoprigora, deputy commander of Russia’s Joint Group Forces).^[4] It was also claimed that two months before the hostage-taking, the Russian GRU military intelligence had arrested Barayev and contained him “until his release had provided leads to the hostage taking at the Dubrovka theatre.”^[5]

Death

On October 23, 2002, Barayev and a mysterious man known as “Abu Bakar” led a group of some forty SPIR militants and their family members (who had dubbed themselves “the suicide squad from the 29th Division”) to seize the theater in the Russian capital Moscow, demanding negotiations with Russian authorities for an end to the second war in Chechnya, withdrawal of Russian forces and Chechen independence,^[6] threatening to execute his hostages.

Movsar Barayev was killed on the third day of the crisis, when the Russian FSB special forces launched a chemical attack and stormed the theater. The day when he died was his 23rd birthday.

Barayev’s bloodied corpse was shown by the Russian TV lying on the ground of the theater amidst broken glass with the intact bottle of cognac near his hand. Later, the Russian authorities said his body was secretly buried in an undisclosed location.