Russian investigators work near the scene of a car bomb blast in the city of Kazan July 19, 2012. The most senior Islamic official in Russia's largely Muslim Tatarstan region was wounded in a car bomb attack and his deputy was killed in a separate shooting on Thursday, law enforcement officials said.  REUTERS
Russian investigators work near the scene of a car bomb blast in the city of Kazan July 19, 2012. The most senior Islamic official in Russia's largely Muslim Tatarstan region was wounded in a car bomb attack and his deputy was killed in a separate shooting on Thursday, law enforcement officials said. — Photo by Reuters

MOSCOW: Russian prosecutors say four people suspected of killing a top Muslim cleric and wounding another in Tatarstan province have been detained.   

Valiulla Yakupov, the deputy to the province’s chief mufti, was gunned down Thursday in the regional capital of Kazan. Minutes later, chief mufti Ildus Faizov suffered leg wounds after an explosive device ripped through his car.

Both clerics were known to be critics of the radical Islamist groups that have mushroomed in recent years in this predominantly Muslim Volga River province of 4 million people. Faizov has also been criticized by Tatarstan media for allegedly profiting from tours he organized for Muslim pilgrims.

The Investigative Committee said Friday that one of the suspects owned a company that organized hajj pilgrimages, and another one heads a religious institution in Tatarstan.

Opinion

Editorial

Plugging the gap
06 May, 2024

Plugging the gap

IN Pakistan, bias begins at birth for the girl child as discriminatory norms, orthodox attitudes and poverty impede...
Terrains of dread
Updated 06 May, 2024

Terrains of dread

Restored faith in the police is unachievable without political commitment and interprovincial support.
Appointment rules
06 May, 2024

Appointment rules

IT appears that, despite years of wrangling over the issue, the country’s top legal minds remain unable to decide...
Hasty transition
Updated 05 May, 2024

Hasty transition

Ostensibly, the aim is to exert greater control over social media and to gain more power to crack down on activists, dissidents and journalists.
One small step…
05 May, 2024

One small step…

THERE is some good news for the nation from the heavens above. On Friday, Pakistan managed to dispatch a lunar...
Not out of the woods
05 May, 2024

Not out of the woods

PAKISTAN’S economic vitals might be showing some signs of improvement, but the country is not yet out of danger....