Ingushetia Attacks

Jun 27 2004 11:20AM
Security official says special services informed of rebel plans in Ingushetia
NAZRAN/MOSCOW, June 27 (Interfax) - Head of the Federal Security Service's Department for Ingushetia Sergei Koryakov said the special services had information indicating terrorists were planning attacks in Ingushetia.

"Of course, we did not have the complete scenario of the attacks. Nor did we know details of the rebels' plans. But we had intelligence suggesting that the rebels planned to intensify operations and were considering terrorist attacks," Koryakov told Interfax on Sunday.

"We believed terrorist attacks could occur, and we were right," he said.

Koryakov's deputy, Andrei Konin, earlier told the headquarters set up after the rebel attack in Nazran, that 30 minutes before the first attacks were made late on Monday evening, special services received information about the rebels' plans and warned the Ingush Interior Ministry. The Ingush Interior Ministry denied having received such information.

"Everything my deputy said is true. Such statements are always sanctioned before they are made," Koryakov said.

"I would not overly politicize special services' routine work, or speculate on whether or not a warning was issued and whether it happened half an hour or an hour before the attack. It's our duty to obtain information through our specific methods and forestall negative occurrences. To achieve the best results we need to keep our colleagues informed. And we do so, we do our work and, I'm sure, do it quite professionally," Koryakov said.

Meanwhile, Ingush President Marat Zyazikov said he had not been informed about the rebels' plans to attack areas in the republic.

"I, as the republic's leader, had no such information. You know who has to provide such information," Zyazikov said on NTV television on Friday.

"It was either treachery, or carelessness, or neglect or irresponsibility, since human lives were at stake. I've named the worst qualities, but I think all of them were there," Zyazikov said explaining why no information on the rebels' plans was available.

Zyazikov said he was sure that the terrorist attack had been planned outside Ingushetia.
"This is obvious. The goal of the attacks was to upset stability in southern Russia. Someone probably thought that Ingushetia is a weak link. But Ingushetia has changed. It is a constituent republic of Russia in which Russian laws are strictly observed, and of course international terrorists cannot come to grips with this," he said.

The Russian State Duma's security committee will gather on June 28 for an emergency closed-door meeting to determine how the rebels were able to carry out the terrorist attacks against several communities in Ingushetia.