She is known as Black Fatima — the head of a ring of female Chechen suicide bombers who spikes the drinks of new recruits and sends them out to kill and maim. She is the most wanted woman in Russia. Her chilling role as the alleged mastermind of the bombing campaign terrorising Moscow was revealed last week by Zarema Muzhikhoyeva, the first would-be suicide bomber to be captured alive. Black Fatima was spotted by concertgoers at the Moscow pop festival where 14 music fans were killed by two female suicide bombers a fortnight ago.
Muzhikhoyeva’s statements to police have fuelled fears that Chechen gangs plan to send the widows of men killed in the insurgency in the southern Muslim republic on further suicide missions. These female bombers are known as the "black widows", and investigators have given the traditional Muslim name of Fatima to their mysterious mentor. Muzhikhoyeva, a 22-year-old from Chechnya who was charged on Friday with terrorism, murder and attempted murder, was arrested after a failed attempt to blow herself up in a restaurant in central Moscow on July 9. The young woman had been ripe for recruitment by the militants: her husband and father were both killed fighting Russian troops. In her confession, she identified a photofit of Black Fatima as "Lyuba". The images show a middle-aged woman wearing dark glasses. Police say that she is aged about 40, about 160 centimetres tall, with dyed blonde hair.
| Good description. I think I saw her yesterday. She was walking a poodle... |
Muzhikhoyeva says that Lyuba met her when she flew in from Ingushetia, a region bordering Chechnya. Lyuba took her to a safe house and gave her orange juice that left her dizzy and confused. Security officials believe the juice was laced with a mind-altering drug intended to break down any inhibitions as she prepared to die. They have sent blood samples for testing.
After a week, Lyuba gave Muzhikhoyeva a bomb in a rucksack and instructed her to blow herself up in the McDonald’s restaurant in Pushkin Square. However, the young woman did not know Moscow well and entered a small cafe when she could not find the hamburger restaurant. Her attack was foiled when the TNT in her bag failed to detonate. Georgy Trofimov, a 29-year-old bomb disposal expert, died trying to make the bag safe. |