After this attack, a second bomber rushed in and detonated his own bomb in the same spot, not far from the parliament building. The attacks continue in and around Chechnya despite Russian government claims of “victory” over the insurgency.

Insurgent factions across Chechnya have been launching attacks against the Russian-backed ruling regime for decades now, and despite the claims of victory the region still has an active secessionist movement.

So far it isn’t clear exactly which insurgent group was responsible for the attack, but ruler Ramzan Kadyrov was quick to pin the strike on a “zombified bandit.” He insisted that the bandits are pure evil that must be eradicated.

And while characterizing it as a war may be a stretch at this point it seems clear that the rebels are determined to start yet another insurgency, and self-described Chechen “emir” Doku Umarov seems determined to escalate the situation to levels Russian officials thought they had seen the last of from the region.

In addition to today’s Ingush bombing, last week saw a bombing in neighboring Dagestan which killed 12, and a major bombing of a Moscow subway by Chechen rebels which killed at least 39 people.

The reaction to these sudden upswing in violence has been a mixture of fear and frustration, as there is a growing sense that the Russian government can do little about such attacks, and is only offering the same conventional counter-insurgency strategy it has been trying for over 15 years.

The ability of the female suicide bombers to “blend in” and hit the subways has led to increasing fear that such attacks will become common in the future. This is a problem for Muscovite commuters but even moreso for those from the North Caucasus, who are increasingly finding themselves the subject of scrutiny and mistrust.

Umarov said the attack was retaliation for Russian military violence in the Caucasus and promised more attacks in the future. The attack was carried out by female suicide bombers and was one of the deadliest in years in the Russian capital.

Just hours after the threat was made, suicide bombers attacked in the Caucasus region of Dagestan, killing at least 12 and injuring 28. Russian officials say they can’t rule out this attack as being carried out by the same group.

Umarov became the most important militant among the Chechen rebels since the 2006 deaths of Abdul-Halim Sadulayev and Shamil Basayev. Though he has denied any explicit link with al-Qaeda he has expressed support for Muslim militants in Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere in fighting against Western nations.

At least that’s the official line. In reality military sources say that of the 50,000 troops in place, only about 20,000 “might” withdraw if the official state of war is ended. In this regard the Russian government seems to be taking a page out of President Obama’s book – declaring the end of a war by withdrawing only a fraction of the overall fighting force. In reality, the troop cut is likely driven by budget concerns more than the reality on the ground.

Yet President Medvedev added that given the “improved security,” it was time to reconsider the “legal regime” currently in force in Chechnya. More so than the pullout of less than half of the Russian occupation force, this might actually have some tangible benefits to the lives of the average Chechens, who currently live under harsh restrictions to movement and the constant threat of detention. Medvedev insists that any moves potentially taken would not prevent his government from “consistently and resolutely” fighting against terrorism.