On August 21-27, 2017, four persons fell victim to armed conflict in Northern Caucasus

During the week of August 21-27, 2017, at least four persons were killed in the armed conflict in Northern Caucasus. No wounded were reported. These are the results of the calculations run by the "Caucasian Knot" based on its own materials and information from other open sources.

The death toll includes at least three suspected members of the armed underground in Ingushetia and a civilian in Chechnya.

Special and counterterrorist operations

At 5:25 a.m. Moscow time on August 23, a counterterrorist operation (CTO) was introduced in the village Psedakh in the Malgobek District of Ingushetia. According to law enforcers, during a check, they discovered and cordoned off militants in a private house. Special force fighters demanded from the suspects cordoned off in the house to lay down their arms, but the suspects opened fire. In the course of an armed clash in the house, a powerful explosion occurred and completely destroyed the building. During the special operation, four suspected militants were killed, reported a source from the law enforcement agencies. Later, the source reported that according to the preliminary information, three persons were killed, identified as Bekkhan Soltukiev, the leader of the Malgobek militant grouping, and its members Mikail Cherbizhev and Khasan Khatsiev. The National Antiterrorist Committee (NAC) confirmed the killing of the leader and members of the Malgobek militant grouping without specifying their number. On the same day, the CTO legal regime was lifted. According to investigators, a genetic examination was appointed to determine the number of the killed suspects and identify them. In the basement of the house, where the militants were killed, the law enforcers found an underground bunker and a workshop for manufacturing of explosive devices, as well as weapons, portable radio sets, a video camera, binoculars, and automobile state registration plates. Ingush leader Yunus-Bek Yevkurov reported that the killed militants were plotting terror acts.

Attacks on civilians

On August 25, Mukhmad Askhabov, a member of the Chechen Parliament, was killed in the Achkhoi-Martan District of the republic. In the morning, when the MP was going to work, his car was shelled from a firearm. The shelled car lost control and turned over several times. The car was presumably shelled from a Kalashnikov submachine gun. The MP got non-fatal gunshot wounds and died after his car flew to a roadside ditch at a speed of about 90 kilometres per hour. Mukhmad Askhabov could be killed by terrorists, reported Djambulat Umarov, Minister on National Policy of the Chechen Government. Meanwhile, later, the leader of Chechnya stated that the Mukhmad Askhabov's murder was not of political nature, and investigators considered that the crime could be connected with the MP's official activities.

Detentions

On August 25, believers of a Salafi mosque in Makhachkala were detained after a Friday prayer. 17 people were brought to the OVD (Interior Division) for the Soviet District of Makhachkala. After the inspection, all the detained people were released.

At about 3:00 p.m. Moscow time on August 27, at the Gerzel checkpoint on the border with Chechnya, the police detained 35-year-old Marziyat Gadjikurbanova, who was travelling by a shuttle bus on the route Makhachkala-Kiev. The resident of Ukraine with her four children was taken off the bus after the passport control. The detained woman was brought to the ROVD (District Interior Division) for the Novolak District, where she was interrogated without an advocate. This was reported by her relatives. The woman was released after spending six hours at the police station. According to Marziyat Gadjikurbanova, she was informed about inclusion of her name in the wanted list, and the investigators' questions mostly concerned her husband. The policemen said they got information that the man stayed in Syria.