Kicking Off Putin's Party

"Suicide bomber blamed in double blast in Russia’s Caucasus" New York Times, May 05, 2012

MOSCOW - At least 13 people were killed and about 100 injured in a double bombing at a police station in Russia’s tumultuous North Caucasus region Thursday night, officials said, a stark reminder of the challenges facing Vladimir Putin in the region as he prepares to take over the presidency next week.

Investigators said Friday that a suicide bomber set off at least one of the devices at the police station in Dagestan, a mostly Muslim region that neighbors Chechnya. 

Related: Russia Regressing 

The attack occurred just four days before Putin’s inauguration and underscored the persistent failure of the authorities to control the region despite nearly two decades of intermittent war. Putin’s decision to start a war in Chechnya as prime minister in 1999 served as the foundation for his rise to power.

Despite some success in dampening the violence over the years, a simmering Islamist insurgency has spread from Chechnya into other parts of the North Caucasus.  

Islamist insurgency = western intelligence operation.

Thursday’s attack was the most deadly in some time. After the first explosion, scores of police and rescue workers arrived to aid the victims. Then the second bomb went off, killing and maiming many more.

The hallmark of an intelligence operation.

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