All militants killed in attack on Grozny identified as residents of Chechnya

Militants, who attacked Grozny at night of December 4, were members of the armed grouping led by field commander Aslan Byutukaev, and they were residents of Chechnya, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent has been informed today by a source in the Chechen law enforcement bodies.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on the night of December 4 militants attacked policemen in Grozny. The Chechen capital was put under the counterterrorist operation regime. Most of the attackers took refuge in the House of Press, and some of them – in School No. 20; both buildings were blocked. According to latest reports, the fight resulted in 11 killed members of the armed underground and 14 lost power agents; other 36 law enforcers were wounded.

"Militants killed during special operation held in Grozny on December 4 have been identified. Their number includes residents of the Grozny, Gudermes, Naur, Kurchaloi, Achkhoi-Martan, and Urus-Martan Districts of our republic," the source has stated. According to him, the militants were members of the criminal grouping of terrorist Aslan Byutukaev, so-called "Khamzat Amir". He is the leader of the suicide battalion "Riyad us-Saliheen" (Gardens of the Righteous) once founded by Shamil Basaev, a famous Chechen field commander.

In the period of December 6-9, in Chechnya, several houses in the village of Yandi of the Achkhoi-Martan District, including houses of relatives of militants, who attacked Grozny, were set on fire. On December 9, a house belonging to the family of Aslan Byutukaev was burned down in the village of Kotar-Yurt.

Residents of Chechnya interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent reacted negatively to the fact that houses of militants’ relatives had been burned down.

"To cast out women and children and to set houses of militants on fire is not the way out. We should first address the causes of the situation," the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was told by Alikhan Sh., a resident of the republic.

"I condemn militants, their methods and terror acts committed by them. However, I do not also accept the way how our authorities are trying to deal with them. What wrong did elderly people, women or children of militants do?" says Turpal Ali K., a resident of Grozny.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.