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| Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia |
| Caucasus Corpse Count |
| 2005-07-24 |
| Gunmen on Saturday killed two policemen in Nalchik, a town near Russia's rebel Chechnya, in the second deadly attack in a week, local media reported. Such attacks were once largely confined to Chechnya, where separatist rebels have fought Russian rule for a decade, but are increasingly spreading to other Muslim provinces in the North Caucasus. Russian news agencies said the gunmen opened fire on the police as they drove through central Nalchik, capital of the Kabardino-Balkaria region and about 175 km (110 miles) east of Chechen capital Grozny. "As a result two policemen died of their injuries on the spot," a police source told RIA Novosti news agency. The attackers stole the dead policemen's weapons, the agency said. Gunmen killed four police in Nalchik and seized more than 170 firearms in a December attack claimed by an Islamist group allied to the Chechen rebels. Gunmen killed two more policemen in Nalchik three days ago, and troops have used heavy weapons to crush small groups of militants in several sieges this year. Nalchik sits at the foot of mount Elbrus, Russia's tallest mountain, and the rugged terrain provides a wealth of hiding places for insurgents. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |