Briefs

Special Forces Members Targeted in Chechnya

Prague Watchdog reported on November 3 that a checkpoint on the road between Gudermes and Shuani manned by a company from the Vostok special battalion came under fire from unidentified gunmen traveling in a Zhiguli car on November 1. According to the website, the company’s deputy commander was shot in the head and taken to the hospital. Prague Watchdog reported that according to “people in the know,” the weapon used in the attack was a Makarov pistol—weapons that rebel fighters are increasingly using because they are easy to conceal and throw away. The website also reported that the body of a member of the Yug special forces battalion was discovered with gunshot wounds near the village of Neftyanoye, not far from the Vedeno district center, on October 31. Prague Watchdog quoted a Chechen Interior Ministry source as saying that the 28-year-old serviceman had fallen behind his group and was subsequently found dead in a wooded area. The website reported that 31 men have been arrested in Chechnya over the past month and charged with being members of “Ichkerian or Caucasus Emirate armed units.” It also reported that Chechnya’s rebels are stockpiling food and ammunition in anticipation of winter’s arrival and that, in response, the authorities are targeting those suspected of assisting the rebels, including two youths arrested near the village of Goity in Chechnya’s Urus-Martan district on October 29.

Weapons Seized, Suspected Rebels Arrested in Kabardino-Balkaria

RIA Novosti reported on November 3 that police had discovered an arms cache containing explosives and a home-made bomb during a special operation in Kabardino-Balkaria. A law enforcement source told the news agency that police retrieved a grenade, three 200-gram blocks of TNT, nearly 100 5.45-mm cartridges and a home-made bomb containing TNT, an electronic detonator, two batteries and wires from a “woodland hideout.” On October 31, security forces in Kabardino-Balkaria discovered two arms caches with large quantities of ammunition and explosives, Kavkazky Uzel reported. On October 30, republican Interior Ministry and Federal Security Service (FSB) personnel arrested three men suspected of involvement in “illegal armed formations.” The three, who were arrested separately in different areas of Kabardino-Balkaria, were wanted for various crimes, including attacks on law-enforcement personnel, Kavkazky Uzel reported.

Website on Russian-Circassian War Launched in Adygeya

The Circassian Congress in the Republic of Adygeya has launched a new website devoted to the Russian-Circassian war of 1763-1864 and its consequences. The website’s address is www.CircassianGenocide.org.