| Submit your comments on this article |
| Caucasus |
| 4 Dagestani coppers iced |
| 2004-08-01 |
| Unidentified gunmen killed four police officers in clashes with police in Dagestan, officials said Friday. The gunmen driving a vehicle fired at police when they stopped it for a document check in the town of Kizlyar in northern Dagestan, just across the border from Chechnya. One policeman was killed on the spot and the second one died later in a hospital, the local branch of the federal Interior Ministry said in a statement. The gunmen then ran to a nearby apartment building, broke into one of the apartments and barricaded themselves up, firing at police who tried to approach the building. The authorities evacuated the building's residents, blocked the area and launched an operation to flush the gunmen out. In the ensuing gun battle, the gunmen killed two police officers and wounded another two, police spokesman Abdul Musayev said, Interfax reported. Musayev also said all three gunmen who were in the building were killed in the storming, Itar-Tass reported. Initial reports put the gunmen's number at five or six, and it was unclear whether any of them escaped. Dagestani Interior Minister Adylgirei Magomedtagirov said the gunmen had crossed into Dagestan from Chechnya with an apparent goal to stage attacks in the region, Interfax reported. Magomedtagirov also said police had detained a local woman suspected of being linked to the gunmen. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |