On July 16-22, 21 persons fell victim to armed conflict in Northern Caucasus

Last week, from July 16 to July 22, 2012, at least 21 persons suffered in the armed conflict in Northern Caucasus. These are the results of calculations of the "Caucasian Knot" based on own materials of the edition and information from other open sources. Of them, 12 persons perished and 9 more were wounded.

The death toll includes five law enforcers – three in Kabardino-Balkaria and two in Ingushetia. Eight other law enforcers were wounded - seven in Ingushetia and one in Kabardino-Balkaria. In total, seven suspected members of illegal armed formations (IAFs) were liquidated: six in Dagestan and one in Kabardino-Balkaria. One civilian was wounded in Kabardino-Balkaria.

The above statistics is not absolutely precise. Not all the data gets into news reports; and it is not always possible to verify the statements made by of law enforcement bodies.

Attacks on law enforcers

In Nalchik, on July 17, a policeman from the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) of Kabardino-Balkaria was shot dead. The incident occurred at about 8:15 a.m. Moscow time in Vatutin Street. Two unidentified persons opened fire at an employee of the state defence division of the MIA of Kabardino-Balkaria, who died on the spot. The casualty is an operative agent named Murat Nakov.

On July 17 in Dagestan, in the course of a skirmish in the Tabasaran District, power agents killed a suspected militant. In the village of Tsalak, during operative-search actions, fire was opened from one of the houses at the policemen. In the course of the skirmish, Zakir Feizullaev, born in 1976, was shot dead. Earlier, Feizullaev was convicted under Article 208 of the Russian Criminal Code "Organization of an illegal armed formation or participation therein" – in 2009, he was sentenced to one year and three months of settlement-colony.

On July 18, in a shootout in Dagestan, power agents killed three men, who opened fire at the policemen; nobody of the latter was hurt. The incident occurred around midnight on the highway Khasavyurt-Mutsalaul. The power agents tried to stop a car for a check, but were attacked from inside. During the shooting, all the three men who were in the car were shot dead. They have been preliminarily identified.

On July 18, as a result of a shelling in the capital of Kabardino-Balkaria, two policemen were killed. The incident occurred near the Green Market, at the "Kolos" Hotel in Nalchik. One law enforcer, who had been sent from another region, died on the spot; the second one was taken to hospital with his wounds, where he also died.

On July 20, four policemen suffered from a grenade launcher shot in Ingushetia. The incident occurred in the Nasyr-Kort Municipal District of Nazran at about 00:10 a.m. Moscow time. Unidentified persons, who were driving a Lada Priora car, made a shot supposedly from a PG-7 grenade launcher at a car, parked in front of the amphitheatre, next to which four policemen guarding the building and the adjacent territory were standing. As a result of the explosion, all of them received barotraumas and were hospitalized.

In Nalchik, on July 21, two unidentified men attacked a police stronghold and injuring two persons. A district policeman who was at his service there was wounded in his leg; and an occasional pensioner who was at that moment taking out garbage was wounded.

In Kabardino-Balkaria, on July 21, in the course of operative-search actions, conducted by employees of the MIA and FSB Department for Kabardino-Balkaria, a supposed militant was killed. None of the power agents was hurt. The killed person was identified as Martin Azhakhov, who, according to the police, was an IAF participant.

On July 21, in the Sunzha District of Ingushetia, a column of internal troop servicemen was shelled. As a result of the incident two soldiers were killed and three more wounded. The attack was committed between the villages of Dattykh and Galashki.

Special operations

On July 21, at 9:00 a.m., the counterterrorist operation (CTO) regime was introduced in a suburb of Makhachkala – the township named Semender. The active phase of the special operation resulted in a killing of two suspected militants, who were later identified; one of them – as Temirbek Temirbekov, born in 1975, the leader of the so-called "Kizilyurt grouping".

Detentions

On July 16, in the mountainous Vedeno District of Chechnya, policemen detained a local woman, who is suspected of helping the members of the armed underground.

In Dagestan, on July 17, Shakhban Gasanov, 23, a resident of the village of Chernyaevka, Kizlyar District, was detained on suspicion of involvement in the armed underground.

In the Khasavyurt District of Dagestan, on July 20, a local resident was detained on suspicion of IAF members.

In the city of Argun, on July 19, policemen detained a suspect of helping members of the armed underground.

Kidnappings

On July 20, in the Khasavyurt District of Dagestan, two young men were kidnapped, as a witness of the incident asserts. Later, according to their relatives, the young men were found at the Khasavyurt ROVD (District Interior Division).

In Nalchik, on July 20, unidentified persons kidnapped Aitek Bidzhiev, as his mother Valentina Bidzhieva has reported.