Deadly coincidence: blast hits Russian south on the day of mourning

As the deadly blast hit Russia’s city of Vladikavkaz, Muscovites were mourning the victims of the terror attack that struck the capital 11 years ago.

Back on September 9, 1999, a powerful blast destroyed an apartment block on Guryanova Street located to the south-east of Moscow, killing 92 people and injuring 264, among them 86 children.

In the last 20 years, Russia has seen about 90 terror attacks, which have claimed the lives of hundreds of people.

On August 8, 2000, a strong blast in a Metro underpass at Pushkinskaya station in the center of Moscow claimed the lives of 12, with 150 injured. A homemade bomb equivalent to 800 grams of TNT had been left in a bag near a kiosk.

On October 23, 2002, Chechen terrorists took over a theater on Dubrovka Street in Moscow. 129 hostages died. As a result of an anti-terrorist operation all the attackers were killed.

On September 1, 2004, the famous attack took place in Beslan’s School Number 1, in Russia's Republic of North Ossetia. A group of armed militants seized the school and held more than 1,200 people hostage for three days. 339 people were killed, including more than 180 children.

February 6, 2004 marked the biggest Moscow Metro blast, with about 40 casualties and hundreds injured on the busy green line.

On August 13, 2007, an explosion caused the derailment of the Nevsky Express train bound for St. Petersburg from Moscow. 30 people were injured, with two men from the northern Caucuses charged over the incident.

Most recently, on March 29, 2010, two deadly blasts in the Moscow Metro stations Lubyanka and Park Kultury. Killed 40 people and injured over 120.

Recent terror attacks in Vladikavkaz

The city of Vladikavkaz has also often become the scene for the terror attack in the recent decade. There have been 11 major terror attacks, many of which took place at the city’s central market, one of the most crowded places in Vladikavkaz.

On March, 19, 1999, a powerful blast hit the city’s central market, killing 52 people and injuring over 100.

On May, 16, 2000, a blast hit a Vladivavkaz military base, where many officers were located. Four people were killed and nine injured.

On July 9, 2000, a homemade bomb exploded next to the city’s central market. Six people were killed and 15 injured.

On November 10, 2001, a bomb was set off at a local clothes market, killing six people and injuring 60.

On November 18, 2002, two blasts at once hit the Vladikavkaz stadium right after a game between two Russian teams. No one was killed.

On April, 28, 2002, a blast hit a flower shop at the central market, killing 10 and injuring 40. The bomb was stuffed with nails and pieces of metal. Its force was equivalent to 500 grams of TNT.

The criminals who carried out the attack, Ruslan Chakhkiev and Movsar Temirbiev from Ingushetia, were found and sentenced to 24 and 18 years of imprisonment respectively.

On February 3, 2004, a truck exploded next to one of the city’s banks. Two people were killed and eight injured.

On February 2, 2006, three consecutive blasts hit the gambling center located in central Vladikavkaz, killing two people and injuring 14.

And just two years ago, on November 6, 2008, a suicide bomber set off an explosive device in a minibus taxi parked next to one of the stations right in the city center. 12 people were killed and 38 injured.