Islamic Terrorists Claim Credit For Russian Dam Explosion

Earlier in the week, an incident occurred at a Russian dam in the Caucasus Mountain region. An explosion and flooding seriously damaged the hydropower facility, killing at least 76 people. At the time, the Russian authorities said that there was a transformer explosion that damaged turbines and collapsed the concrete ceiling of the turbine room.

The dam is the largest hydroelectric power plant in Russia and supplies power the entire region. The explosion also caused an oil slick on the river downstream from the dam. The authorities were also trying to reassure towns and people living downstream that the integrity of the dam was intact.

Now, a Times of India report indicates that an Islamic terror group is claiming responsibility for the attack. The Russians vigorously deny the claims, saying that there was no trace of explosives found in the wreckage.

Russian investigators strongly denied the claim by Riyadus Salikhiin, a militant group with roots in Chechnya, that it had hit the power station as part of a new campaign of "economic war" in Russia.

The claim was posted on a rebel website, Kavkazcenter.com, which said it received a statement by email. There was no way to check the veracity but Russian officials said Monday's tragedy at Russia's biggest hydroelectric plant was caused by a technical fault and there was no evidence of an attack.

"Russian security service explosives experts have found no trace of explosive material at the site of the accident," said Vladimir Markin, spokesman for the investigative committee of the state prosecutor.

"Various theories for the cause of the accident are under investigation. However there has been no confirmation of the theory of a terrorist act," he said, according to news agencies.

It would make sense for an Islamic terror group to claim responsibility, even if they had nothing to do with it since it would burnish their credibility among other terror groups and serve to enhance their recruitment efforts. However, at present there's no way to know for sure if they managed to infiltrate the Russian hydropower facility. If they did, it would reveal a serious breach in Russian national security, and one that should raise similar questions elsewhere in the world.