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| Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia |
| Basayev had accomplices in the Ingush interior ministry |
| 2004-09-24 |
| Chechen warlord Shamil Basayev, who has claimed responsibility for the Beslan hostage crisis, was helped by at least 10 accomplices in the Ingush interior ministry when he led an attack on the Russian republic that left 90 dead, a report said Friday. "These crooks provided information to the terrorists on how many police were deployed and where and on the least protected sites and on the time at which it would be best to carry out the attack," an investigator told Vremia Novostei newspaper. Ingush police officers also helped Basayev's men transport their weapons across the republic, he said, speaking on condition of anonymity, adding that interior ministry cars were not inspected at checkpoints. In coordinated raids overnight June 22, several hundred rebels attacked state targets in Ingushetia, killing mostly law enforcement officials before melting away at dawn. The Vremia Novostei daily said two Ingush policemen have been arrested for helping the rebels carry out the raids. One of the men, who were brothers, died when he set off a grenade in the deputy interior minster's offices, the paper said. The minister was seriously injured in the blast. Other policemen suspected of aiding the rebels are being hunted by the republic's security srevices. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |