Dagestan

We are at war with Russia, not the United States of America’: Dagestan rebel group distances itself from Boston bombers

National Post,

21 April, 2013

Facing speculation it may have played a role in the Boston Marathon bombing, a rebel faction fighting for a Muslim state in the North Caucasus region of Russia issued a statement Sunday insisting it was not at war with the United States.

“We are at war with Russia,” a commander of the group, Caucasus Emirates, said in a communiqué posted on Kavkaz Centre, a pro-jihadist website. He also said the group’s emir, Doku Umarov, had prohibited attacks on civilians.

Investigators were reportedly trying to retrace the movements of one of the bombers, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, who spent six month in Dagestan last year. Along with neighboring Chechnya, Dagestan is a base for armed Islamist groups.

Mike Rogers, chair of the House Intelligence Committee, said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that Tsarnaev may have received training and “that final radicalization to push him to commit acts of violence” while in Dagestan.

Rebel leader Umarov already has a US$5-million reward on his head due to his role in the bombings of the Moscow airport and subway. According to the U.S. State Department, he has called for attacks against the United States, Britain and Israel.

Russian troops battle Dagestan fighters