2006 Volkgoroda bombings
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The 2006 Volkgoroda bombings, referred to colloquially as 11/18 or November 18, were a series of coordinated suicide attacks in Volkgoroda, Volkia, that targeted civilians in Stefan Gurkovsky Square who were attending the Autumn Festival Market. The attacks caused the death of 128 civilians and injured 361, making it the deadliest terrorist attack in Volkian history.
| 2006 Volkgoroda bombings | |
|---|---|
| Part of terrorism in Volkia | |
| Location | Volkgoroda, Volkia |
| Date | November 18, 2006 7:02 - 7:18 p.m. (VST) |
| Target | Civilians |
Attack type | Suicide bombings |
| Weapons | IEDs |
| Deaths | 132 (including 4 perpetrators) |
| Injured | 362 (68 critical) |
| Assailants | Square:
Metro station:
|
Four homemade bombs were detonated almost simultaneously within Stefan Gurkovsky Square and in the neighboring metro station. Two additional bombs were set to detonate; the first one malfunctioned and injured the bomber, Kostya Kuzmin, while the second failed to explode. The explosions were found to have been caused by triacetone triperoxide IEDs packed into suicide vests.
The official police investigation found that the attacks were orchestrated by members of the religious doomsday cult Yarkiye and masterminded by its founder, Lukyan Yolkin. Yolkin, the failed bombers, and several other members of Yarkiye were convicted for their roles in the attacks. Yolkin and two other high ranking Yarkiye members received the death penalty, while the failed bombers received life imprisonment with no parole due to their cooperation with investigators.
Following the attacks the Volkian government declared five days of national mourning.
Background
Lukyan Yolkin founded Yarkiye in early 1994 with some members of his former Lunarist church in Kholpolya and began meeting in an office building in Repyovka. Yolkin and his followers progressively radicalized over the years, believing the end of days was nearing. Yarkiye was reportedly put under surveillance several times between 2001 and 2003 with no evidence of illegal activity turning up.
In 2004 three members of Yarkiye were arrested and convicted for possession of firearms which brought further attention to the group. A mass shooting later that year carried out by a Yarkiye member resulted in the deaths of 15 civilians; the perpetrator was killed by police. The group denied any planning but expressed sympathy to the victims, with an official statement saying the group hopes the victims "found Her Eternal Light." It was suspected the leadership of Yarkiye masterminded the attack but no official connection was found.
Yarkiye members were involved in at least two more incidents resulting in mass casualties prior to the bombing, but again investigators were unable to link the group's leadership with the perpetrators. A grand jury issued a subpoena for documents relating to these mass casualty incidents and Yarkiye offices were raided by agents from the National Bureau of Investigation in October 2006. It is believed these raids may have hastened the bombings; documents recovered in later police raids revealed the cult's original target was the Winter Solstice Festival in Volkgoroda.
Attacks
- 7:02 pm – Two explosions occur in Gurkovsky Metro station, ≈7 seconds apart.
- 7:03 pm – Transit police alert dispatch to explosions. Emergency calls begin.
- 7:04 pm – Two simultaneous explosions occurred within Stefan Gurkovksy Square.
- 7:10 pm – Emergency services begin arriving en masse to both sites.
- 7:11 pm – Fifth attacker's vest fails to detonate properly, critically injuring himself.
- 7:18 pm – Sixth attacker taken into custody after his vest fails to detonate.
- 7:30 pm – All public transport within the city is suspended.
- 7:32 pm – Volkia raises its terrorist threat level to its highest level and locks down Volkgoroda.
- 7:45 pm – Officers from the Rapid Intervention Unit are deployed to Volkgoroda.
- 8:57 pm – Police detonate a suspicious package near the National Assembly Building.
- 11:25 pm – Police raid the main Yarkiye building in Volkgoroda.
There were two successful coordinated attacks: two bombs at Stefan Gurkovsky Square and two within the nearby metro station. Two additional attacks intended to target first responders failed.
Gurkovsky metro station
Two suicide bombers (Dmitry Bychkov and Iosif Knyazev), wearing vests packed with explosives, attacked civilians inside the Gurkovsky metro station, near Stefan Gurkovsky Square located in Volkgoroda. The first explosion occurred at 7:02 pm as crowds exited the Blue Line train; the second explosion occurred about seven seconds later near the entrance to the metro station as civilians fled. Some witnesses reported hearing shots fired shortly after the explosions. However, authorities stated afterwards that there were no shots fired.
On duty transit police alerted dispatch at 7:03 pm and the first ambulances began arriving at 7:08 pm.
A third bomber, Vanya Tereshchenko, detonated his suicide vest at 7:11 pm attempting to target first responders on scene. His vest failed to detonate properly and Tereshchenko was critically injured and ultimately paralyzed.
Stefan Gurkovsky Square
Two additional bombers (Isidor Koshkin and Vlasiy Volodin), also wearing suicide vests, targeted civilians attending the annual Autumn Harvest Festival in Stefan Gurkovsky Square. At 7:04 pm, after the explosions at the metro station, the bombers detonated their vests simultaneously near the concert stage and the food vendors. Emergency services were quickly dispatched and began arriving at 7:09 pm.
Kostya Kuzmin
Perpetrators
Profiles
A total of six attackers were involved, with four dying in suicide suicide bombings and the remaining two arrested after their suicide vests failed to detonate properly. They were identified and named as:
- Isidor Koshkin: aged 32.
- Vlasiy Volodin: aged 26.
- Dmitry Bychkov: aged 27.
- Iosif Knyazev: aged 31.
- Kostya Kuzmin: born March 4, 1984.
- Vanya Tereshchenko: born November 1, 1983.
Investigation
Casualties
Effects and response
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Volkian Federative Republic |
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|---|---|---|
| Main article: Volkia | ||
| Important Topics: Culture ♦ Lupine ♦ Volkian language ♦ Lunarism ♦ Volkian korona ♦ Defense Forces | ||
| Government: Federal Government ♦ President ♦ Cabinet ♦ National Assembly ♦ Federal Supreme Court ♦ Political Parties | ||
| History: Grand Principality of Volkia ♦ Duchy of Volkia ♦ Kingdom of Volkia ♦ Volkian Civil War ♦ Northern Revolt ♦ Volkian Revolution | ||
| Important Figures (Past and Present): Yuliya Surkova ♦ Aleksey Pushkarev ♦ Stefan Gurkovsky ♦ Ivan Ogarkov ♦ Vasily Tolmachyov ♦ Yulian Lebedev | ||