On November 17-23, eight persons fell victim to armed conflict in Northern Caucasus

During the week of November 17-23, 2014, at least eight persons fell victim to the armed conflict in Northern Caucasus. Of them, six persons were killed, and two others were wounded. These are the results of calculations made by the "Caucasian Knot" based on its own materials and information from other open sources. Besides, this week, one more person was reported killed earlier.

The death toll includes six suspected members of the armed underground two in Dagestan and four in Chechnya. Besides, one civilian was reported killed in Chechnya during the previous week.

Special and counterterrorist operations

In the evening of November 17, on the outskirts of the Cossack village of Sernovodskoe located in the Sunzha District of Chechnya on the border with Ingushetia, law enforcers cordoned off four suspected members of the armed underground. They were revealed during the special operation launched a week ago, when a hunter was killed in the vicinities. The suspected militants rendered armed resistance to policemen. As a result of the shootout, they were killed, and two policemen were wounded. From the place of the armed clash the law enforcers seized three Kalashnikov submachine guns, components for an improvised explosive device, ammunition, and two hand-held antitank grenade launchers. The police identified the killed men as Ruslan Akhmatov, a 40-year-old resident of the Nadterechny District of Chechnya, Ramzan Esnukaev, a 31-year-old resident of the Sunzha District of Chechnya, Imran Khanmagomadov, a 21-year-old native of the Urus-Martan District, and Said Shishbulatov, a 21-year-old resident of Grozny.

On November 21, starting from 1:15 a.m. Moscow time, a regime of the counterterrorist operation (CTO) was introduced in the city Derbent of Dagestan. Law enforcers cordoned off the multi-storey building No. 63 inSalman Street. According to their information, several suspected militants were hiding there. They were offered to lay down their weapons and go out without a fight; however, the suspected militants opened fire and made an attempt to break through the police cordon. As a result of the following armed clash, the law enforcers stormed the cordoned-off building. Two persons were killed. One of them was identified as Velibeg Veliev, the leader of the Suleiman-Stalsky militant grouping. At 4:30 p.m. of November 21, the counterterrorist operation regime was lifted.

Bombings and terror acts

On November 20, three improvised explosive devices (IEDs) were found in the area of the federal highway "Kavkaz" in the territory of the Nazran District of Ingushetia. The total IED power was about 18 kilograms of TNT equivalent. The IEDs were defused at the place.

Detentions

On November 18, in the course of search operations carried out in the Cossack village of Sernovodskoe of the Sunzha District of Chechnya, law enforcers detained a local resident suspected of aiding and abetting members of armed underground. The detainee is under the recognizance not to leave, and the question of instituting a criminal case against him under the relevant article of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation is under consideration.

On November 19, at the checkpoint "Cheget", policemen and staff members of the FSB Department for Kabardino-Balkaria stopped a VAZ car driven by a resident of the Baksan District. During the search of the car, they seized a TNT charge of 200 grams and 227.6 grams of marijuana. Besides, in the course the personal search of the detainee, they seized 13.8 grams of hashish oil and potent drugs. According to police, the detainee was aiding and abetting members of the armed underground in Kabardino-Balkaria.

On November 20, in Nazran, law enforcers detained a local resident suspected of aiding and abetting militants. According to investigators, in September 2014, a 28-year-old man was aiding members of an illegal armed formation (IAF) in the territory of Ingushetia. The detainee provided financial assistance to the militants and informed them about places where they could hide from the law enforcers. Besides, he helped the militants acting as a driver.

On November 20, at 6:00 p.m., during the search operations carried out in Makhachkala, law enforcers detained a resident of the village of Makhachkalavillage of Semender, born in 1990. The detainee was put on the federal wanted list for theft. According to investigators, during the period of July-August 2014, the detainee provided financial assistance to a member of an IAF killed during the special operation in Makhachkala on October 31.