NALCHIK, Oct 14: Russian special forces on Friday stormed three buildings held by gunmen, crushing a massive raid by militants in the southern city of Nalchik that ended with more than 100 people dead.
“The situation in the city is currently calm and does not raise significant concern,” Russian Deputy Interior Minister Andrei Novikov said after visiting the city.
Around two thousand Russian troops fought back against the attacks on Thursday, launched raids on three buildings held by gunmen and afterwards hunted for militants possibly on the run, Mr Novikov said.
Twenty-four law enforcement personnel, 12 civilians and 72 militants were killed in two days of shootouts in Nalchik, bringing the preliminary toll to 108, Interior Minister Rashid Nurgaliyev said in a report to President Vladimir Putin.
“We will act in a coordinated, effective, severe way as we did this time against anyone who takes up arms,” news agencies quoted Mr Putin as saying.
Mr Putin praised the work of the security forces, but said: “it’s bad that bandit sorties of this sort are still possible.”
Nine hostages were released, 31 militants arrested and 51 security officers injured in the operation, Mr Novikov said.
An official from Nalchik’s main hospital quoted by Moscow Echo radio station said 93 people were recovering from injuries, with nine of them in a serious condition.
Russian troops carried out assaults on a police station, a souvenir shop and a prison administration building early on Friday.
The shooting ended after several hours and an uneasy calm fell on the city as the first funeral wakes began for victims of the raids.
In an assault on a souvenir shop where two gunmen were hiding, militants returned fire and a journalist on the scene saw one soldier shot in the leg before special forces killed the rebels and captured the building.
Militants were also reported killed and hostages freed in two separate assaults on a local police station with grenades and automatic weapons and on a prison administration building.
The operation came a day after armed militants — estimated by the Russian interior ministry to number around 100 — launched simultaneous attacks on eight government installations in Nalchik, triggering fierce street battles.
Russian forces were tired but smiling as they stood in front of buses on city streets, smoking cigarettes and awaiting orders, while entry points into the city were still blocked.
In Thursday’s commando-style operation, groups numbering eight to 15 fighters each targeted police stations, ministerial and security offices and a private armoury in the capital of Kabardino-Balkaria, Mr Novikov said.
Two extremists with experience of operations in Chechnya, Anzor Astemirov and Ilyas Gorckhanov, had recruited fighters mostly among the local population, Mr Novikov alleged, adding that Gorchkhanov had been killed.—AFP
NALCHIK, Oct 14: Russian special forces on Friday stormed three buildings held by gunmen, crushing a massive raid by militants in the southern city of Nalchik that ended with more than 100 people dead.
