Chechen President blames AMERICA for Boston bomb suspects' acts of evil because of 'immoral upbringing'



Suspects may have attacked US because of its relationship with Russia

Chechen militants have long history of attacking Russia, but never West



Expert says aftermath of 2004 Beslan school siege sparked hatred for West



'America is to blame': President Ramzan Kadyrov, a former Chechen rebel himself, said 'any attempt to draw a connection' between Chechnya and the brothers was 'futile'

Chechnya's Russian-backed president has hit out at America for killing one of the suspected Boston Marathon bombers and blamed the US for moulding them into terrorists.

Chechen-born Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, died from gunshot wounds and possible blast injuries after a fierce gun battle rocked t he Watertown area of Boston hours after a police officer was shot dead at the nearby MIT campus.

His 19-year-old brother, Dzhokha, fled the shoot out and is on the run, reportedly having strapped explosives to his body.

But President Ramzan Kadyrov, a former Chechen rebel himself, told US authorities that 'any attempt to draw a connection' between Chechnya and the brothers was 'futile'.

In a Russian-language statement on Instagram, he added: 'They were raised in the United States, and their attitudes and beliefs were formed there.



'It is necessary to seek the roots of this evil in America.



'The whole world must struggle against terrorism — that we know better than anyone else. We hope for the recovery of all the victims, and we mourn with the Americans.'



Muslim militants from Chechnya have a long history of unleashing devastating terror attacks on Russia – but the allegations of involvement in the Boston Marathon blasts would mark the first time they have targeted the West.



However, the United States may have become a target for Chechen terrorists in the wake of the harrowing Beslan school hostage crisis nearly ten years ago, an expert claimed today.

The world watched in horror in 2004 as armed Islamic separatist militants, some Chechen, occupied a school in Beslan, North Ossetia, and killed more than 380 people.

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Terrorists: Tamerlan Tsarnaev (left), killed by police on Wednesday night, and his younger brother Dzhokhar (right), who is still on the run, are both from the troubled region of Chechnya



Security expert Simon Bennett said the tragedy bridged a gap between the US and Russia by establishing a mutual threat - fundamental Islamic terrorism.



Dr Bennett, director of the Civil Safety and Security Unit at the University of Leicester, said: 'One of the few things in the past five or 10 years that has brought the Russians and the US closer together is the perceived threat from Islamic terrorism.'

He explained that the Beslan crisis would have fostered a close collaboration between the Russians and the West through agencies such as the CIA.



Terror: Russian TV showed children and teachers cowering in fear in the gymnasium of the Beslan school as armed Chechen gunmen stand guard during the siege in 2004

Fear: A gunman wires a bomb during the siege, images of which were beamed around the world. An expert today said the tragedy - which left 380 people dead - bridged a gap between the US and Russia by establishing a mutual threat - fundamental Islamic terrorism

Blood on the floor: This tape was made by hostage takers showing what seemed to be the first hours of the three day school crisis that ended in bloodshed

Dr Bennett went on: 'The Chechnyans and fundamentalists would have been aware of the bridging of the gap between Russia and the US.



'If Chechnya want an easy target, why not fly to the US on a temporary visa and attack a prestige event.



'If those two guys had carried out that attack in Moscow, the repercussions would have been severe because the Russian state under (president Vladimir) Putin is not reluctant to go in hard. They would know that wouldn't happen in America.'



Buried in the heart of Russia’s Northern Caucasus, the Islamic state has fought against Russian rule for centuries.

Bloodshed: Russian special forces remove hostages from a theatre where over 40, mostly female, Chechen terrorists took more than 700 hostages prisoner at a Moscow theatre

Bodies in the dark: And in January 2011, a Chechen suicide bomber unleashed terror on Moscow's Domodedovo Airport when they blew themselves up killing 36 people

But it culminated in a bloody and chaotic civil war with the Russian government that ended in 1994 and left tens of thousands dead and the region in ruins.

As a result, the area became a hotbed for extremism, and was soon infiltrated by foreign Islamic militants, including those with ties to al Qaeda.

Terrorists have since unleashed a string of attacks on Russian soil.

THE SMALL COMMUNITY OF CHECHEN REFUGEES IN THE US AND THE MAFIA IN SOUTH AMERICA

While exact numbers are unclear, a small, but growing Chechen community exists in the United States, in particular in Los Angeles and throughout California.

US intelligence has suggested drug trafficking has long financed the Chechen separatist movement and its links to Islamists groups. Meanwhile Chechen crime lords have increased their presence in Argentina, Brazil and Colombia to facilitate the shipping of Andean cocaine to Europe.

They have also been linked to arms trafficking to Brazil and Colombia, and money laundering.

Russian troops withdrew from Chechnya in 1996 after the first Chechen war, leaving it de-facto independent and largely lawless, but then rolled back three years later following apartment building explosions in Moscow and other cities blamed on the rebels.



Chechnya has stabilized under the steely grip of Kremlin-backed local strongman Ramzan Kadyrov, a former rebel whose forces were accused of massive rights abuses.

But the Islamic insurgency has spread to neighboring provinces, with Dagestan, sandwiched between Chechnya and the Caspian Sea, becoming the epicenter of violence with militants launching daily attacks against police and other authorities.



Militants from Chechnya and neighboring provinces have launched a long series of terror attacks in Russia



On October 23 2002, over 40, mostly female, terrorists took more than 700 hostages prisoner at a Moscow theatre, demanding an end to the Russian presence in Chechnya. Dressed from head to toe in black hijabs, they became known as The Black Widows.



But Russian security forces stormed the theatre, guns blazing, killing the hostage takers after releasing a toxic gas into the auditorium that killed more than 100 innocent theatre goers.

The 'Black Widows' responded by attempting to detonate homemade bombs strapped to their bodies, though most were shot dead before they could.



Then on September 1 2004, a group of 32 heavily-armed, masked men seized control of Middle School Number One and more than 1,000 hostages in Beslan, North Ossetia.



Most of the hostages were children aged from six to sixteen years old.



Bombings: Russian troops withdrew from Chechnya in 1996 after the first Chechen war, leaving it de-facto independent and largely lawless, but then rolled back three years later following apartment building explosions in Moscow and other cities blamed on the rebels, such as this one in 1999

Fight for independence: Buried in the heart of Russia¿s Northern Caucasus, the Islamic state has fought against Russian rule for centuries

After a tense two-day standoff, that was beamed around the world, Russian forces raided the building.



Following a violent, two-hour gunfight, the siege ended, leaving 331 civilians, 11 commandos and 31 hostage-takers dead.

The rebels have since claimed responsibility for an array of terrorist attacks, including last year's double suicide bombing of the Moscow subway system that killed 40 people.

In March 2010, two women suicide bombers killed 40 commuters when they blew themselves up on two packed tube trains during the busy rush hour.

And in January a year later, a Chechen suicide bomber unleashed terror on Moscow's Domodedovo Airport when they blew themselves up killing 36 people.

In recent years, however, militants in Chechnya, Dagestan and other neighboring provinces have largely refrained from attacks outside the Caucasus.