GROZNY, CHECHNYA – What better way for a terrorist group to make its mark than to bomb its enemy’s parliament?
I am fairly certain that I have written on many, many occasions just how much Islamist terrorists hate democracy. As I have noted it all comes down to a very simple conviction: jihadis believe that God (Allah) is the ultimate decider and that those who think they can decide on anything (i.e. through the democratic process) are defying Him.
Hence, they target elections and elected officials, seeking to wreak havoc on those who dare to vote. These terrorists are not like Islamist parties which DO participate in elections, such as the Muslim Brotherhood, although there are those who are convinced that these entities are all in favour of ‘one man, one vote, one time’ (i.e. they will hold elections only once). No, terrorists just want to kill, maim, and get everyone to kowtow to their demands.
On this day in December 2002
A catastrophic attack on democracy took place in Chechnya in the early 2000s when suicide bombers plowed two explosive-laden vehicles through a military perimeter and blew up the headquarters of the pro-Russian government in Grozny. The attack killed at least 83 people and wounded at least 210 more in two terrific blasts.
How many times have we conducted these traffic checks, and to what aim? Just as before, the terrorists act as if they were masters of Grozny.
Head of the Chechen administration, Akhmad Kadyrov
The attack was carried out by shaheeds (martyrs) linked to Chechen jihadist Shamil Basayev, also known as a Chechen warlord, head of the Riyad al-Salihin terrorist group. And while the parliament was a symbol of democracy it was also representative of a government that was closely tied to Russia. As Chechens have been fighting Russians for centuries it is thus probable that the carnage was intended as much at Russian President Putin as it was at Chechen officials.
Chechen terrorists have been behind many terrorist incidents in their own land as well as in Russia. I fear we have not heard the last from them.
