Police forces in the south Russian region of Kabardino-Balkaria battled unsuccessfully against a group of local Islamist militants Thursday led by a Wahhabite who is on the wanted list for armed attacks in Chechnya. Over 400 police forces were involved in the operation Thursday afternoon when the militant group was surrounded by federal forces, the Kommersant newspaper reported. Two militants were killed, and at least one policeman on the federal side. The militant group was led by Muslim Atayev, a wanted criminal from the North Caucasus republic of Kabardino Balkaria, which borders Chechnya.
| Quite by coincidence, of course... |
Atayev, who heads a local Wahhabite community, fought in Chechnya under separatist field commander Ruslan Gelayev, and took part in attacks on neighboring Ingushetia in the fall of 2002. Armed vehicles, helicopters, and heavy artillery were all unsuccessful in capturing Atayev, however. Special police had closed off a forest area where shooting was taking place for hours, but by dusk the rebels had managed to break through and escape. There were no reports of exactly how many rebel fighters were in the group. Meanwhile, federal police forces were engaged elsewhere in the region in a skirmish with another local group supporting Chechen separatists in the Nalchik area. 
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