October 2013 Volgograd bus bombing


The October 2013 Volgograd bus bombing was a suicide bombing which occurred on 21 October 2013 on a bus in the city of Volgograd, in the Volgograd Oblast of Southern Russia. The attack was perpetrated by a female suicide bomber named Naida Sirazhudinovna Asiyalova, who detonated an explosive belt containing 500–600 grams of TNT inside a bus carrying approximately 50 people—predominantly students. The suicide bombing killed seven civilians and injured at least 36 others.

Perpetrators

The bombing was committed by Naida Asiyalova, a 30-year-old fugitive from the Republic of Dagestan. Asiyalova was the wife of Dmitry Sokolov, a 21-year-old Russian explosives expert and convert to Islam who originally hailed from Krasnoyarsk, although shortly before he had converted to Islam, his family had relocated to Moscow. Following his conversion to Islam, Sokolov adopted the name Abdul Jabbar. Asiyalova was originally from Makhachkala, the capital city of Dagestan in the North Caucasus.
It is believed that in the year prior to their deaths, Asiyalova converted Sokolov to a more radical form of Islam, and persuaded him to join Dagestan militants. He was reported missing by his family in July 2012 after he failed to return home from Arabic language courses that he attended at a Moscow mosque. Prior to the Volgograd bus bombing, he had been linked to two non-fatal explosions which had injured 29 people.

Attack

The suicide belt worn by Asiyalova was constructed by Sokolov, and it is believed the attack upon the bus in Volgograd was originally expected to take place in Moscow, as she had a ticket to travel to the capital on her possession at the time of the explosion. The fact Russian security agencies had been actively monitoring her for suspected terror links may have led to her choosing to detonate her suicide belt upon the bus instead. The explosive device was detonated by Asiyalova less than one minute after she had boarded the bus.
In response, authorities from the Volgograd Oblast declared three days of mourning. Members of the public donated blood for the victims of the blast.
On 22 October, the People's Republic of China condemned the bombing.

Death of Dmitry Sokolov

On 16 November 2013, Russian security forces killed five insurgents, including Dmitry Sokolov, in a village close to Makhachkala. Prior to his death at the hands of Russian security services, Sokolov admitted to constructing the suicide belt and organizing the bombing, and was subsequently killed in a gunfight after refusing to surrender to the security services.

Victims