Late Sunday night a car bomber crashed through security on a Dagestani military base near Buinsaksk and killed four men, injured 35, in the blast. The car was prevented from reaching the main area of the base by a collision with a truck, which detonated the bombs. The Russian government indicates that the blame lies with Islamic militants in the area, known to be under the direction of a new leader (Israpil Velidzhanov) after the military killed the last one (Magomedali Vagabov) in August of this year. In addition, the Russian Defense Ministry says that the security measures on the base were sub-par, which allowed the car bomber to get through. President Medvedev has taken note of the attack and has promised to conduct an investigation into the motive and possible insurgent connections of the attack. In speaking to the newspapers about the bombing, local government leader Magomedov called for more military might to put down rebel groups in the area.
The violence in Dagestan has shown some rise in the past year (most notably with two suicide attacks in March, which killed approximately 40 people), and is seen
as a new hotspot for insurgency; focus has shifted there from the neighboring region, Chechnya, where there have been several recent civil wars. In each case, the violence is generally linked to an Islamist separatist movement. In Dagestan the Russian goverment has relied on harsh military measures and attempts to reduce poverty among citizens as a way to combat terrorism, though it has not found success with either to date.
From the New York Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/06/world/europe/06russia.html?_r=1&ref=russia
From the Moscow Times:
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/poor-security-blamed-for-dagestani-car-blast/414916.html
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