On October 13-19, nine persons fell victim to armed conflict in Northern Caucasus

During the week of October 13-19, 2014, at least nine persons fell victim to the armed conflict in Northern Caucasus. Of them, 8 persons were killed, and one more person was wounded. These are the results of calculations made by the "Caucasian Knot" based on its own materials and information from other open sources.

The death toll includes six suspected members of the armed underground: four in Dagestan, one in Kabardino-Balkaria, and one in Chechnya; and two law enforcers in Kabardino-Balkaria.

Attacks on law enforcers

On October 18, in Nalchik, inspectors of the road-and-patrol service (known as DPS) stopped a Honda car to check the driver's and passengers' IDs. The unidentified persons in the car opened fire on the law enforcers. As a result, one of the DPS inspectors was killed, and the other one was wounded. One of the attackers from in the car was killed by return fire, and three other attackers managed to escape. The killed suspected militant has been identified as Khasan Zalikhanov, born in 1987. According to the law enforcers, in 2012, he was put on the federal wanted list as an active member of an illegal armed formation (IAF).

Special and counterterrorist operations

On October 15, in the course of search operations carried out in the village of Vremenny of the Untsukul District of Dagestan, law enforcers discovered a bunker, which sheltered, according to law enforcers, at least three militants. On October 18, a resident of the village of Gimry reported that the law enforcers opened the bunker and detained three persons. The law enforcers took the detainees in the direction of the village of Shamilkala.

On October 15, in Dagestan, Ramis Mirzakhanov, a deputy of the Tabasaran District Assembly, was killed in the village of Akka of the Tabasaran District. According to the Investigating Committee of the Russian Federation (ICRF), the killed deputy was sheltering his relative, a member of the armed underground. On October 15, Ramis Mirzakhanov's house was cordoned off. When Ramis Mirzakhanov saw law enforcers, he attacked them and stabbed an OMON (riot police) fighter with a knife. He was killed by return fire, while the militant, who was hiding in the house, escaped.

On October 15, in the Lenin District of Grozny, law enforcers checked passports in connection with the search for suspected members of IAFs. According to an official from the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA), the law enforcers were searching for the natives of Chechnya, born in 1981 and 1985. According to the operational information, they can be used as suicide bombers.

In the morning of October 16, the counterterrorist operation (CTO) regime was introduced in Derbent. Dagestani law enforcers cordoned off a five-storey building in Sovetskaya Street, in an apartment of which a group of suspected militants was hiding. Besides, the law enforcers cordoned off one more house. The militants opened fire on the law enforcers. As a result of the armed clash in the five-storey building in Sovetskaya Street, two suspected members of the armed underground were killed, and one more suspected militant was killed in the second cordoned-off house. According to the law enforcers, two killed men were active members of the "Yuzhdag" militant grouping, and the third killed man was an active accomplice of the militants. No civilians and law enforcers suffered in the armed clash. According to the National Antiterrorist Committee (NAC), the killed men were identified as Nariman Askerov, Kurbanmagomed Kurbanov, and Elshan Salikhov. According to a family member of Elshan Salikhov, he was detained in the morning on October 16 and his whereabouts was unknown until the very evening of that day. The wife of Elshan Salikhov claims that on the day, when Elshan was killed, the law enforcers carried out a search of their house and planted ammunition there.

On October 18, in the Staropromyslovsky District of Grozny, Aslan Aliskhanov was killed while law enforcers tried to detain him. According to the Chechen MIA, he was put on the federal wanted list for involvement in illegal armed formations, and he was suspected of organizing an explosion on October 5 in Grozny.

Bombings and terror acts

On October 18, a resident of the village of Nart in Kabardino-Balkaria reported to the police that he found a suspicious package while he was working at his land plot. An investigative team and combat engineers left for the place. While they were examining the package, it blew up. A policeman died from his injuries on the spot.

On October 19, an improvised explosive device (IED) with power of 25 kilograms of TNT equivalent was found in the basement of a multi-apartment building under construction in Khasavyurt in Dagestan. The IED was defused.

Disappearances

On October 14, Tamara Ozdoeva, a resident of Ingushetia, and her three-year-old son Abmurokhman Mamatov disappeared while they were visiting the Universal indoor market in Nazran. A brother of Tamara Ozdoeva has filed a complaint to the police about their disappearance.