Four tourists assassinated in Kabardino-Balkaria

On February 18, in the village of Zayukovo, Baksan District of Kabardino-Balkaria, unidentified persons attacked a Gazel minivan with tourists, killing four of them. All the casualties have been identified; they were three men and a woman.

According to a source from the law enforcement bodies of Kabardino-Balkaria, the minivan with five tourists from Moscow were stopped at the entrance to the village of Zayukovo on the Federal Highway "Baksan-Azau" by unknown persons in camouflage, who demanded that the girl get out of the van. The men stood up for her, and the attackers opened fire.

As a result, two men and a woman were shot dead; the remaining two men with injuries were taken to hospital. One of them later died. The doctors were called by the driver, who was not hurt. The gunmen fled in a foreign-made car without license plates, the ITAR-TASS reports.

As reported by a source from power structures of the North-Caucasian Federal District (NCFD), the tourists were attacked by "armed and masked criminals posing themselves as law enforcement officers," the "Vesti.Ru" reports.

A criminal case was initiated under three articles: murder, attempted murder and illegal arms circulation, the RIA "Novosti" reports.