| Submit your comments on this article |
| Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia |
| Muslim leader in Russia region wounded |
| 2007-02-01 |
| Unidentified gunmen opened fire Wednesday on a car carrying the chief Muslim leader in Ingushetia, seriously wounding the mufti and his son, according to police in the violence-plagued southern Russian region adjacent to Chechnya. The mufti of Ingushetia, Isa Khamkhoyev, was riding in a car driven by his son when it came under fire from automatic weapons, Ingush Interior Ministry spokesman Nazir Yevloyev said. Yevloyev said Khamkhoyev's son was in critical condition. He said Khamkhoyev was seriously wounded, but the RIA-Novosti news agency, citing doctors, said the injuries were not life-threatening. There were no other witnesses to the attack, and the assailants fled, Yevloyev said. Ingushetia has been plagued by attacks by militants, often targeting officers and facilities of law enforcement or the government. As a mainstream Muslim leader, the mufti could possibly have been perceived as a target by Islamic extremists. "There are those who oppose the traditional spiritual leadership's calls for stability and peace in the region," RIA-Novosti quoted Khamkhoyev's predecessor, Magomed Albogachiyev, as saying. |
| Posted by:ryuge |