The Russian daily newspaper "Komsomolskaya pravda" on April 9 published the photographs of 22 women whose relatives were killed by Russian forces and whom law enforcement officials suspect could become potential suicide bombers.
In the aftermath of the March 29 attack in the Moscow subway, when two female suicide bombers killed dozens of rush-hour commuters, law enforcement is paying especially close attention to the widows and sisters of militants killed by Russian forces in the volatile North Caucasus region.
Rasul Magomedov's daughter Maryam Sharipova, 28, was one of two suicide bombers who attacked the Moscow subway system on March 29. Magomedov said she disappeared the day before the bombings, and residents say they don't understand how she could have even gotten to Moscow in time to commit the attacks. Her parents believe she was forced to carry out the deadly task.
Rasul Magomedov shows the photo of his daughter Maryam Sharipova (R) at his home at Dagestani village of Balakhany.
She was one of two women that targeted the Moscow metro on March 28, killing 40 people. The device she was carrying detonated just before 8am local time at the Lubyanka metro station close to the headquarters of the Federal Security Services (FSB).
A 28-year-old computer science teacher has been identified by her family and the investigation as the second of two female suicide bombers who killed dozens of people on the Moscow metro.
A resident of Makhachkala, the capital of Russia's North Caucasus republic of Daghestan, Zaira Magomedova, 35 widow is one of the 22 women whose photographs were published at the Russian daily newspaper "Komsomolskaya pravda" on April 9. These women whose relatives were killed by Russian forces and whom law enforcement officials suspect could become potential suicide bombers.
Magomedova's husband Ahmed Magomedmerzaev was killed during special operation in 2004. Zaira is a mother of two sons got married secondly in 2008.
Her family are under relentless scrutiny from Dagestan law enforcement agencies. Her home has been searched by police frequently. Zaira were attacked by locals at the streets of Makhachkala and her older son were beaten at the kindergarden after the publication of her photography at "Komsomolskaya pravda" .
In the aftermath of the March 29 attack in the Moscow subway, when two female suicide bombers killed dozens of rush-hour commuters, law enforcement is paying especially close attention to the widows and sisters of militants killed by Russian forces in the volatile North Caucasus region.
Paramilitary abductions continue to be a leading tool used by the authorities in the North Caucasus against their opponents. Subigat Gasanova, at right, provided evidence to the human rights organization "Memorial" nine months ago, claiming her husband was abducted at the center of Makhachkala last September by men in camouflage.
En route to the mountain village of Balakhani, the home of Maryam Sharipova, the 28-year-old teacher allegedly turned suicide bomber.
Locals in Balakhany and other villages fear that special operations forces targeting communities with suspected links to the fighters will increase after the Moscow bombings. Operations looking for fugitives or their supporters often end in bloodshed.
Magomed Shapi Vagabov visits the grave where his son, Magomed Ali, is buried. Vahabov believes his son was murdered by Dagestani police in 2007.
The police summoned Magomed Ali for an interview on July 16, 2007.When he turned up at the regional station, they assured him he was mistaken. On his way home, however, police officers ambushed his car and shot him in the leg. According to his father, the officers were about to plant weapons in the boot of his vehicle but abandoned the plan when a crowd quickly gathered. Ali was taken to hospital, with witnesses confirming he was still alive. Officers, however, kicked out doctors from the room were he was being held; minutes later he was dead.
Human rights groups say there are numerous cases of extra-judicial killing,torture, and disappearances carried out by the Dagestan police force.
Ahmed Gadzhemagomedov (R) and Magomed Shapi (L) had given evidence to the human rights group Memorial about the disappearance and subsequent murder of their sons
Brother's Saigadzhe Saigadzheev show the photographs of their brother 's body with visible signs of torture and beating.
Ahmed Gadzhemagomedov the father had given evidence to the human rights group Memorial about the disappearance and subsequent murder of his son Saigadzhe Saigadzheev and two other young people in October 2008. The officials reported three men were killed when they attached the policemen.
Taisa Satabalova, right, believes her son, Marat Satabalov, was beaten to death outside of Kazbekovsky Police Station in Dagestan because of his long beard, which would be taken as a sign of his devotion to Wahhabi Islam. Satabalova's wife, Luiza, is at left.
The wounded policemen get treatment at the hospital of interior ministry in Makhachkala.
Shoot-outs and bombings is being fought between Dagestan police force and Islamist rebels daily .
The friday prayer at the central mosque of Makhachkala
In Dagestan Wahhabism is effectively regarded as terrorism, and even, uniquely for Russia, prohibited by law. This law was passed by the local parliament back in 1999, after the incursion by Shamil Basaev and his followers, which marked the beginning of the "Second Chechen War". In other words, Wahhabis are perceived as armed Islamic radicals who want to destroy secular government and create a Shariah state in the Caucasus. To the government, they are the chief natural enemy of the state.
On the other hand, there are actually a large number of people who are followers of "pure Islam" (researchers on the issue call them Salafis) in Dagestan. These are Muslims who preach a return to the five pillars of Islam and do not accept worship of Sufi sheikhs as intermediaries between Muslims and Allah. They are generally not hard to spot, as they have beards and pray at their special mosques. The vast majority of these people do not, of course, roam the mountains with automatic weapons. They lead ordinary lives. But they are also branded as enemies and harshly persecuted.
Students of North Caucuses Islamic University Center of Education and Science travel to Buinaksk to become followers of Sheikh Abdulzhalil-afandi. Unemployment rates of up to 90% often push young people in the North Caucasus to take up roles on either side of the conflict.
Thousand people from all over of Dagestan daily visit the sheikh Abdulzhalil-afandi in Buinaksk to receive one their first rituals of Sufi Islam, a task for repeating prayers.
In Dagestan there are sectarian tensions between the minority Salafi community and the traditional Sufi majority, whose roots in Dagestan and the town of Derbent go back to the eighth century.
The situation is aggravated by a preexisting conflict between the Salafis and the "traditional" Sufi Muslims ("Tariqahs"). In Dagestan acting Sufi sheikhs have many "murids" in government and in law-enforcement enforcement agencies, including in high positions. A murid is a follower obliged to obey his sheikh, and, as experts have noted, the sheikhs do not hesitate to use high-ranking murids to suppress their religious opponents. Being a salafi in Dagestan is dangerous. Men who make themselves visible as Salafis by wearing Muslim clothes and long beards create such a threat for themselves and their families that few of the followers of "pure Islam" dare to take the risk.
Visitors of the sheikh Abdulzhalil-afandi in Buinaksk to receive on their first rituals of Sufi Islam, a task for repeating prayers.
In Dagestan there are sectarian tensions between the minority Salafi community and the traditional Sufi majority, whose roots in Dagestan and the town of Derbent go back to the eighth century.
The situation is aggravated by a preexisting conflict between the Salafis and the "traditional" Sufi Muslims ("Tariqahs"). In Dagestan acting Sufi sheikhs have many "murids" in government and in law-enforcement enforcement agencies, including in high positions. A murid is a follower obliged to obey his sheikh, and, as experts have noted, the sheikhs do not hesitate to use high-ranking murids to suppress their religious opponents. Being a salafi in Dagestan is dangerous. Men who make themselves visible as Salafis by wearing Muslim clothes and long beards create such a threat for themselves and their families that few of the followers of "pure Islam" dare to take the risk.
A Dagestani policeman looks through a list of photographs and names at a checkpoint in Kyzlyar. Dagestan, along with the nearby republics of Ingushetia and Chechnya, has been the site of seemingly endless tension and conflict since the fall of the Soviet Union.
Subigat Gasanova
Her husband Rashid Gasanov was abducted on September 8, 2009.
Farida Ahmedova
Her husband Umir Ali Ahmedova was killed on September 17, 2009.
Ase'yd Aleeva
Her son Kirim Asadylaev was killed in January 2010.
Gadzhiyav Musalaev
His son Gusein Musalaev was killed on December 16, 2009.
Liza Dakaeva
Her son Belal Dakaev was abducted on August 9, 2009.
Thousand believers from all over of Dagestan daily visit the sheikh Abdulzhalil-afandi in Buinaksk to receive one of their first rituals of Sufi Islam, a task for repeating prayers. In Dagestan there are sectarian tensions between the minority Salafi community and the traditional Sufi majority, whose roots in Dagestan and the town of Derbent go back to the eighth century.
