BRIEFS

–WANTED REBEL GUNMEN REPORTEDLY DETAINED

Itar-Tass reported on November 24 that two gunmen involved in the attack on Grozny on August 21, 2004, which resulted in the death of more than 60 law enforcers, had been detained in Chechnya. Citing the federal Interior Ministry’s Main Department for the Southern Federal District, the news agency reported that the two suspects, who were “active members of gangs and were on the federal wanted list,” were detained during a special operation. In addition to the attack on Grozny (see Chechnya Weekly, September 1, 2004), the two militants had also participated in several bombings of federal armored vehicles, Itar-Tass reported.

–FSB CHIEF: BASAEV HAS “NOWHERE TO GO”

FSB Director Nikolai Patrushev vowed on November 24 that Chechen rebel warlord Shamil Basaev, who is responsible for the September 2004 raid on Beslan and other terrorist attacks, would not be able to escape Russian forces, RIA Novosti reported. “We have tangible results,” Patrushev told the government newspaper Rossiiskaya gazeta. “We have passed the stage where we were literally chasing each militant in the mountains, risking the lives of our officers.” Now, Basaev and other terrorists have nowhere to go, Patrushev said.