On November 16-22, 14 persons killed in armed conflict in Northern Caucasus

During the week of November 16-22, 2015, 14 persons were killed in the armed conflict in Northern Caucasus. These are the results of the calculations run by the "Caucasian Knot" based on its own materials and information from other open sources.

All victims were suspected members of the armed underground in Kabardino-Balkaria.

Special and counterterrorist operations

Starting from 8:00 a.m. Moscow time of November 22, the counterterrorist operation (CTO) legal regime was introduced in the territory of Nalchik and the Cherek Municipal District of Kabardino-Balkaria. According to the National Antiterrorist Committee (NAC), field investigators received the information about an armed grouping hiding in the forested and mountainous terrain around the city of Nalchik. The area, where the militants had been discovered, was blocked by special units of the Russian FSB and the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA). When offered to lay down their arms and surrender, "the militants opened sporadic fire on law enforcers and used grenades." In the course of the armed clash, 11 suspected militants were killed. Some of them were identified as Murat Zhamborov, Anzor Tengizov, Vladimir Tengizov, and Arsen Belimgotov. None of law enforcers suffered. According to a source from the law enforcement bodies, in the morning, during the special operation carried out in the forest, law enforcers discovered a dugout with an arranged workshop for manufacturing of improvised explosive devices (IEDs), which contained two ready-to-use IEDs. At 1:00 p.m. Moscow time of the same day, the CTO legal regime was cancelled.

At 7:50 p.m. of November 22, in Nalchik, the CTO legal regime was introduced for the second time during the day. At about 8:00 p.m., a shootout occurred in the residential district "Gorny" (Mountainous). According to law enforcers, the operational headquarters of the NAC for the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic (KBR) received the information that militants from the destroyed militant grouping were hiding in the city of Nalchik. As a result of the additional operative and search activities, law enforcers discovered three other armed men. When the law enforcers tried to detain the suspects, they rendered armed resistance and were killed. During the special operation, none of the law enforcers or civilians suffered. At 9:45 p.m., the CTO legal regime, introduced in Nalchik at 7:50 p.m., was cancelled.

Detentions

On November 20, law enforcers conducted mass detentions of believers of two Makhachkala mosques located in Kotrov Street and Hungarian Fighters Street. Those mosques are well-known for the fact that they are mainly visited by followers of the Salafi concept of Islam. At 12:00 a.m., law enforcers started to detain believers of the mosque in Hungarian Fighters Street. According to eyewitnesses, all the detainees were brought to the Soviet ROVD (District Interior Division) of Makhachkala. According to Magomed Magomedov, the spokesman for the mosque in Hungarian Fighters Street, in total, law enforcers detained no more than six persons; however, according to the believers, the number of detainees was higher and reached 10-14 persons. By 7:00 p.m., all the detainees were released. At about the same time, law enforcers started to detain believers from the mosque in Kotrov Street. By the beginning of the Friday prayer, the mosque building was approached by several buses with armed law enforcers, in masks and without masks, in police uniform and in civilian clothes. The law enforcers blocked the street, and after the completion of the prayer, they forced all the believers coming out of the mosque to enter their buses and took them away without explaining the reasons for their actions. Eyewitnesses report that the believers expressed their indignation about illegal detentions, and gunshots were heard: the law enforcers apparently opened fire into the air. According to one of the believers, the conflict was caused by the introduction of the new Imam, who had been appointed without consultations with the believers. In the course of the clash, 10-15 mosque-goers were beaten. In particular, during the police raid, Grigory Tumanov, a reporter of the newspaper "Kommersant", and his colleague, a photographer, were detained. However, they were released at about 2:00 p.m. In total, up to 50 mosque-goers were detained. At the police station, their documents were checked, and some of the detainees were fingerprinted. By 6:00 p.m., all the detainees were released.

Disappearances

In the evening of November 17, Murad Shamilov, a resident of the village of Semender, disappeared. He left home in his car in the direction of the Novaya bus station to accompany his father to a sanatorium. According to relatives of Murad Shamilov, at 6:00 p.m., they contacted his father Magomed, and he told them that everything was all right, that he was already on the road in the bus, and that Murad had accompanied him and drove away in his car. After that, Murad did not contact anyone. His mobile phone is switched off, and his relatives cannot locate him.