On Wednesday, a group of militants attack the Chechen capital city.
On Wednesday, Islamic militants attacked the Chechen capital city of Grozny.
The gunmen broke into the capital city and killed 10 police officers in the attack. Three traffic police were shot and killed while attempting to stop the militants from entering the city.
Several sources, including BBC and the New York Times, reports that there are at least 20 casualties. All 9 of the militants, who may be tied to ISIS, were killed. Though there is currently no confirmation, this attack may be the first strike by ISIS in Russia.
According to BBC, the militants claimed to be avenging Muslim women who were allegedly harassed by Chechen security forces.
During the attack, a publishing company, as well as a school, was damaged. The building housing the media company was scorched in flames as a result of the attack. Residents awoke to the sounds of gunshots and saw plumes of smoke arising from several buildings.
The Chechen leader, Ramzan Kadyrov, claims that none of the attackers escaped and that the situation is under control. Russia’s National Anti-terrorism Committee (NAK) subdued the attackers. Kadyrov is an adamant supporter of Vladimir Putin, who addressed the nation in a speech just hours after the attack. The speech, which Putin scheduled to deliver long before the attack, was about his plans to defend the country against those who desired to harm it.
Kadyrov, though in Chechnya during the attack, attended the speech and did not seem to be unsettled by the attack.
“When this all started I flew home, organized a special operation, killed the devils, held a meeting, gathered the staff needed to restore the damaged building and made it back in time to listen to the address of our national leader,” said Kadyrov.
Putin mentioned that he has faith in Chechnya’s ability to handle the matter, and that the Chechen forces are sufficient in addressing such attacks.
