Suspected militant leader killed in Russia’s N. Caucasus

PanARMENIAN.Net - A suspected militant leader has been killed in Russia’s North Caucasus Republic of Kabardino-Balkaria, the National Anti-Terrorism Committee (NAK) said on Thursday, Dec 27, according to RIA Novosti.

Three people were killed in a shootout with law-enforcers in the republic’s Baksan district on Wednesday.

“At about 19:30 on December 26, three men driving a car opened fire and threw grenades at law-enforcers, who ordered the vehicle to stop after being informed that its passengers might be militants,” the committee said in a statement.

“During a special operation to chase and detain the gunmen all people in the car were killed,” the statement reads.

One of those killed was identified as 26-year-old Alim Lampezhev, a suspected militant leader who has been on the federal wanted list since 2010. He is suspected of extortion and several murders, including the murder of seven law-enforcers, attempted murder of a district administration chief and the killing of a female folk healer.

Lampezhev is also suspected of ordering to gun down a police officer’s car. The man was killed and his two small children were seriously injured in the attack.

The other two car passengers, both aged 23, were also wanted for suspected involvement in several serious crimes in the republic. Police seized grenades and a homemade bomb from the car the trio was travelling in.