Moscow: Russian forces on Tuesday killed a senior
militant in the North Caucasus where radical groups are
seeking to impose an Islamist state, officials said.
Alim Zankishiyev, besieged in a house in Nalchik, the
main city of the Caucasus region of Kabardino-Balkaria, died
in a shoot-out with Russian forces after refusing to surrender
earlier today.
"The bandit was offered to lay down arms and give himself
up to the authorities," Russia`s National Anti-Terrorist
Committee said in a statement.
"In response he put up armed resistance and was
neutralised during the storming of the house."
Zankishiyev, also known by his nom de guerre Ubaida, had
over the past year been in charge of coordinating militant
attacks in the Caucasus regions of Kabardino-Balkaria and
Karachayevo-Cherkessia, the statement said.
He had been on the most wanted list since 2006. Over the
past year he had been responsible for over 30 attacks and
murders of policemen in Kabardino-Balkaria.
Russia is fighting a simmering Islamist insurgency in the
Caucasus, mostly in Dagestan and Ingushetia, but
Kabardino-Balkaria, which is known for its ski resorts, has
also seen a rise in attacks in the past years.
PTI
