A Pakistani link to the Moscow airport blast

The Russian intelligence agencies investigating the January 24 suicide bombing targeting the Domodedovo international airport in Moscow, that killed 35 people, have informed their Pakistani counterparts that those responsible for the blast had links in the Waziristan tribal area of Pakistan on the Pak-Afghan border belt.

According to well-informed diplomatic circles in Islamabad, the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation — the main domestic security agency of Russia which also deals with counter-terrorism and surveillance — the suicide bombers who have repeatedly targeted Russia in the recent past were most likely trained by the al-Qaeda network on the Pak-Afghan tribal belt which is also home to Chechen, Uzbek as well as Tajik militants.

Many of these militants are reportedly travelling to Pak-Afghan tribal belt via Turkey and Iran. The Federal Security Service of Russian Federation believes that the Moscow airport bombing was carried out by the Islamic Caucasian Emirate which has attacked many cities in the past decade, challenging Russia’s sovereignty in Caucasian region. The group is led by Doku Umarov.

The Chechen militants are spread out in the North Caucuses and in Dagestan.