Patimat Magomedova, on the ground, said the last time she saw her daughter, Mariyum Sharipova, she was talking about household matters. She finds it almost impossible to believe that Mariyam could have become a suicide bomber.
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Mariam Sharipova’s aunt, Rahibat, stands in the young woman’s s bedroom in their family house in Balakhani in Dagestan. Her parents said they had heard rumors that Sharipova had married a rebel commander. See full story (Sergei L. Loiko / Los Angeles Times)
Asiyat Aliyeva, who lives in Makhachkala, the Dagestani capital, grieves for her son, Kerim Asadulayev, seen in a photo with his young daughter. He was killed by Russian forces who alleged he was a terrorist. A bystanders video contradicts the troops account of the shooting. See full story (Sergei L. Loiko / Los Angeles Times)
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Children read the Koran at the madrasa attached to a the village mosque in Balakhani. Mariyam Sharipova had begun spending time at the madrasa, saying she wanted to memorize the entire Koran. See full story (Sergei L. Loiko / Los Angeles Times)
Children in the village of Balakhani, where Mariyam Sharipova had lived with her family. See full story (Sergei L. Loiko / Los Angeles Times)
A narrow dirt and gravel road that leads to the village of Balakhani 120 miles west of Makhachkala, the capital of the Russian republic of Dagestan. The violence in Dagestan, and in neighboring regions, is not easy to classify -- a mix of rebels who want independence from Russia, Islamist extremists, and local clan and gang warfare and sectarian strife.
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(Sergei L. Loiko / Los Angeles Times)
A Russian security agent wearing a flack jacket crosses Lenin Square in downtown Makhachkala, the capital of Dagestan. The square features a statue of Vladimir Lenin monument and a poster of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. In Dagestan, as in Chechnya and Ingushetia, there is a sense of being hemmed in to Russia, and yet rejected by the state. See full story (Sergei L. Loiko / Los Angeles Times)
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A woman crosses Lenin Square in front of the mayor’s office in Makhachkala. The poster of Valdimir Putin quotes him as saying: “Seeing how they protect their land and Russia I grew to love Dagestan and Dagestanis even stronger.” See full story (Sergei L. Loiko / Los Angeles Times)
