The 2010 Moscow Metro bombings were suicide bombings carried out by two female Islamic terrorists during the morning rush hour of March 29, 2010, at two stations of the Moscow Metro (Lubyanka and Park Kultury), with roughly 40 minutes in between. At least 40 people were killed, and over 100 injured.
Russian officials called the incident "the deadliest and most sophisticated terrorist attack in the Russian capital in six years", a reference to the Avtozavodskaya and Rizhskaya bombings in 2004. At the time of the attacks, an estimated 500,000 people were commuting through Moscow's metro system.
Initial investigation indicated that the bombings were perpetrated by the militant Islamist Caucasus Emirate group. On March 31, Caucasus Emirate leader Doku Umarov claimed responsibility for ordering the attacks in a video released on the internet. He also stated that such attacks in Russia would continue unless Russia grants independence to Muslim states in the North Caucasus region. The man who brought the suicide bombers to Moscow was arrested in July 2010. The Anti-Terror Committee of Russia confirmed in August 2010 that Magomedali Vagabov, along with four other militants, was killed in an operation in Dagestan. He is believed to be a militant behind the bombings, a close associate of Doku Umarov and the husband of Mariam Sharipova, one of the two suicide bombers.
The bombings were the latest in a series of attacks in Russia since 1994, many attributed to Chechen militants or to the Caucasus Emirate. Since 1999, Chechen separatists gradually shifted away from a pro-western approach of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, becoming strongly influenced by Salafi beliefs which placed them at odds not only with Russia and Pro-Russia Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov, but also with a Dagestani population with strong Sufi traditions. A mujahideen group claim they are fighting a "holy war", and wish to create an "Emirate" in the Caucasus. Over 5,000 people have been killed and wounded in the Caucasus since 2002.
The first explosion occurred on the Red Arrow – 75 years train at the Lubyanka station at approximately 7:56 am local time (03:56 UTC). The train started from Yugo-Zapadnaya, and stopped at Lubyanka station. Once the train doors opened, explosives worn by a woman standing at the second carriage's second exit detonated. The explosive had a force of up to 1.5 kg of trinitrotoluene (TNT). Fifteen people on board the train, and eleven people on the platform, were killed. One victim from the third carriage died from a head injury caused by an 8 mm (0.31 in) piece of metal.
A second explosion at the Park Kultury station followed at approximately 8:38 am, caused by another female, who at the time of the first explosion was riding another train from Yugo-Zapadnaya towards Ulitsa Podbelskogo station in the same direction as the first train. At the time of first explosion, the second train had stopped in the tunnel between Frunzenskaya and Park Kultury stations. It was announced over the speakers that due to technical problems, the train would have to unload the passengers at the next stop. About 40 minutes later, the train reached the station, and once its doors opened, the second female suspect detonated the second explosion, killing fourteen commuters. Panic included stampedes at both stations, as commuters attempted to escape. The second attack was carried out by a dark-haired woman with the equivalent of 2 kg of TNT strapped to her waist. Both bombs were packed with metal nuts, bolts and screws, to increase the destructive impact of the blasts.
The two women who carried out the attacks wore explosive belts, presumably using detonation devices set inside their mobile phones and activated by a call to self.
The attackers intended to strike during peak hours on a weekday when the subway would be at capacity. Eyewitnesses said that some survivors were so badly injured that they constantly splashed heavy amounts of blood on the floor and walls, until they were attended to by doctors.
Alexander Bortnikov, the FSB chief, said its investigation pointed to "terrorist groups related to the North Caucasus".
Citizenship of those killed and wounded was updated by the Ministry of Emergency Situations.
Forty people, aged between 16 and 65, were killed in the explosions. This counts a victim who died of her injuries on March 30. This figure was revised upwards from an earlier count of 36 killed, that had consisted of 24 people in the explosion at the Lubyanka station and 12 at Park Kultury. Two other people died in the resulting stampede at both the stations after the blast. Three of the dead were minors.
A high-ranking official of the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Federation, Captain Viktor Ginkut, was also amongst the passengers killed at Park Kultury station. His residential registry in Sevastopol, Ukraine has raised the question of his actual nationality, but the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia refused to comment on it.
Over 100 other passengers sustained mild to serious injuries. Five of the injured passengers remained in critical condition for an extended period.
A third reportedly failed detonation was announced by Life News roughly 40 minutes later, aimed at one of the two Prospekt Mira stations; however, no explosives were found in the plastic bag, after it was taken from the station. Around 10:04 am local time a call from a public phone announcing another planned explosion was made to the Begovaya station staff, but the caller soon revealed it to be a hoax.
Another hoax occurred about an hour after the second explosion at the Ulitsa Podbelskogo station when passengers noticed a Muslim woman entering the train.
Russian television carried little coverage of the attacks for the first hour after the first explosion took place (at 7:57 am). Commentators have criticised this, alleging that it spread more panic and led to citizens feeling helpless.
Around 11:00 am local time, a special operation was launched to patrol all the subway stations in search of possible clues to trace the instigators. Squads of local police performed passport control at every station of the Sokolnicheskaya Line.
March 30 was declared a nationwide Day of Mourning.