A Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation ( FSB ) investigation named Khattab as the mastermind behind the September 1999 Russian apartment bombings . However , on 14 September 1999 , Khattab told the Russian Interfax news agency in Grozny that he had nothing to do with the Moscow explosions ; he was quoted as saying , '' " We would not like to be akin to those who kill sleeping civilians with bombs and shells . " '' However , some western journalists and historians claimed without hard evidence that the bombings were in fact a " false flag " attack perpetrated by the FSB in order to legitimize the resumption of military activities in Chechnya . Among them are Johns Hopkins University scholar David Satter , historians Yuri Felshtinsky , Amy Knight and Karen Dawisha , and former FSB officer Alexander Litvinenko who was believed to be poisoned by Russian agents in London
Russian apartment bombings
Russian apartment bombings
Ibn al-Khattab