Moscow:
Following is the chronology of armed attacks in Russia since 1995.
- June 1995: Chechen rebels seize hundreds of hostages in a hospital in southern Russian town of Budennovsk. More than 100 die as Russian commandos launch botched raid. Rebels allowed to leave for Chechnya after five days in return for freeing captives.
- January 1996 - 350 Chechen militants seize a hospital in Kizlyar, eastern Chechnya, and take more than 3,000 people hostage. In military operation to free them, 65 civilians and soldiers are killed.
- September 1999 - Bombs destroy apartment blocks in Moscow, Buynaksk and Volgodonsk, killing 200. The government blames Chechen rebels, who in turn accuse Russia's secret services. Then Prime Minister Vladimir Putin responds by sending troops into Chechnya for the first time since 1997.
- July 2-3, 2000 - Chechen guerrillas launch five suicide bomb attacks on bases of Russian forces within 24 hours. At least 54 people are killed at a police base near Grozny.
- October 23, 2002 - About 50 Chechen rebels seize a Moscow theatre and take about 800 hostages. After a three-day siege, Russian forces storm the building using gas, killing most of the rebels and 115 hostages.
- December 27, 2002 - Chechen suicide bombers ram vehicles into the local government headquarters in Grozny, bringing down the roof and floors of the four-storeyed building. Chechen officials say about 80 people killed.
- May 12, 2003 - Two suicide bombers drive a truck full of explosives into a government administration and security complex in Znamenskoye, in northern Chechnya. Fifty-nine people are killed, and scores hurt.