Muslim holiday marked by violence in Chechnya Òåêñò: Combined report Ôîòî: ÈÒÀÐ-ÒÀÑÑ
Five members of Chechen President Akhmad Kadyrov’s security service were killed on Sunday in Alleroi. The attack occurred on the same day that Vladimir Putin offered Russian Muslims his greetings on the occasion of Eid al-Adha, the Feast of Sacrifice, celebrated in Russia as Qurban Bairam, urging them to preserve the ''true values of Islam'', such as tolerance and peacefulness.
Five bodyguards of the Moscow-backed Chechen president's security service were gunned down on Sunday in Alleroi, the native village of the region's separatist ex-president Aslan Maskhadov, Russian news agencies reported. About 10 men wielding automatic weapons and hand grenades broke into the home of Sultan Dudayev, the local commander of Kadyrov's security force in Alleroi, firing automatic weapons at those inside, Interfax reported, citing an unnamed law enforcement source in Chechnya.
Sultan Dadayev and four bodyguards were killed in the morning attack, the agency reported. It quoted the head of the security service, Kadyrov's son Ramzan, as saying that one of the assailants was killed and four wounded, including the rebel commander who led the attack. Ramzan Kadyrov said he was offering a US$200,000 reward for information on the whereabouts of the attackers.
The assault followed a major operation in Alleroi by security service troops who were searching for rebel fighters, weapons, ammunition and explosives. At the time, Ramzan Kadyrov said there was information indicating the chief bodyguard of former rebel president Aslan Maskhadov was in the village along with a group of militants, Interfax stated.
The separatist leader Maskhadov, a native of Alleroi, was elected president of Chechnya in 1997, after Russian forces withdrew following a devastating 1994-1996 war that left the region with de facto independence. Russian forces returned in 1999, eventually taking control of most of Chechnya, and the Kremlin later installed Kadyrov, a former rebel, as the region's chief administrator. He was elected president last October, in a vote widely criticized by human rights groups as rigged.
On the same day that the reports of the latest violence arrived from Chechnya, President Vladimir Putin offered Russian Muslims his greetings at the beginning of Eid al-Adha (Qurban Bairam) celebrations. ''This holiday is taking place under the sign of the further rebirth of the spiritual life of millions of followers of Islam in our country,'' Putin said in a message released on Sunday.
''Religious tolerance and good-neighbourliness, peacefulness and care for fellow human beings are true values of Islam,'' it said. ''In our time they hold a particular significance, serving as a firm foundation for peace and concord, promoting unity in our multinational homeland.''
In another development on Monday morning RIA-Novosti news agency said that a reconnaissance group of Russian Interior Ministry troops has been hit by a mine blast in Chechnya's Nozhai-Yurt District. One person was injured in the blast, the Interior Ministry's temporary press centre in the North Caucasus said. ''The incident occurred yesterday at 0900 Moscow time on the outskirts of the village of Turty-Khutor. A conscript soldier was seriously wounded as a result of the blast. He is currently in hospital,'' the spokesman said.
In a separate report on Monday morning the agency reported that two arms caches were discovered in Chechnya on 1 February. The report said that one cache contained 2 kg of plastic explosives, 1.6 kg of TNT, two electric detonators and three mines, while the second one contained 14 Kalashnikov automatic rifles and one hunting rifle.
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