In other news on Thursday, a powerful bomb ripped through a major
natural gas pipeline in southern Dagestan, cutting gas supplies to
southern parts of the republic and northern Azerbaijan.
Intersting...
Dagestani rebel leader gunned down
ISN SECURITY WATCH (07/07/05) - The leader of the insurgency network
responsible for the murder of over 60 police officers and other
officials in Russia's southern Muslim republic of Dagestan was killed
by local security forces in the capital Makhachkala on Thursday.
Rasul Makasharipov, 34, leader of the radical Muslim rebel groups Jenet
and Jamaat Sharia, was killed in a massive search operation launched by
the Dagestani police and security forces after a powerful bomb killed
11 Russian police officers in Makhachkala over the weekend.
The attack was the biggest of several dozen attacks for which Jenet and
Jamaat Sharia have claimed responsibility over the past two years.
Several senior Dagestani Interior Ministry officials were dismissed
after the bombing, and a special team of investigators was sent to
Makhachkala under the authority of Russian Interior Minister Rashid
Nurgaliev.
Dagestani law enforcers said Makasharipov had passed them a note saying
that he would help "fire" many more police officials and then kill
the rest.
The Chechen rebel website Kavkazcenter.com last weekend posted a
message, purportedly from Jamaat Shariah, claiming responsibility for
the death of the 11 Russian servicemen, who were sent to Dagestan to
help local police track down rebels. The group also vowed to conduct
terrorist attacks in Moscow.
According to Dagestani Interior Minister Adilgirei Magomedtagirov, 68
terrorist attacks have taken place in Dagestan since beginning of 2005
- 40 of them in Makhachkala.
On Tuesday, another bomb planted near a police station in Makhachkala
killed three senior police officers and wounded over 20. Several hours
earlier, a republican lawmaker was ambushed and gunned down in his car
in the Dagestan's Khasavyurt region bordering Chechnya.
A massive search operation was launched by the police in over 150
locations in Makhachkala for Jamaat Sharia members, Dagestani police
officials told reporters on Wednesday.
As police officers on Thursday tried to enter the home of a wealthy
Dagestani businessman accused of sympathizing with Islamic extremists,
they were met with gunfire. A passerby was killed and two officers
wounded.
After two hours of intense fire, police managed to kill two gunmen
inside the house. Another two managed to flee at the onset of the
skirmish, hijacking a passing car and taking the driver hostage. The
gunmen later released the man on the outskirts of Makhachkala.
Makasharipov, alias "Muslim", was identified among the dead by his
relatives on Wednesday. His fingerprints also matched those on police
files.
In 1999, Makasharipov, a Dagestani Wahhabi, joined forces with Chechen
rebel warlord Shamil Basaev. He became a personal interpreter for the
warlord and his close confidant.
In 2000, he surrendered to the authorities and was sentenced to
six-and-a-half years in prison for membership in an "illegal armed
formation", a term used by Russian officials to describe Chechen
rebel groups. A year later, Makasharipov was amnestied.
He set up the underground Jenet group in 2002, which united radical
Dagestani Muslims that had been abused in brutal and indiscriminate
police crackdowns. The group murdered dozens of police officers,
framing its fight as retribution for the persecution of the "true
believers".
Jenet was largely destroyed by the police in 2004, with Makasharipov
himself twice narrowly escaping death. Trapped, both times he managed
to flee, killing policemen in fierce clashes.
He set up the Jamaat Sharia group of radical Dagestani Islamists
earlier this year. The group claimed responsibility for the murders of
the republic's Deputy Interior Minister Magomed Omarov, Information
Minister Zagir Arukhov, and prominent journalist Magomedzagid Varisov
earlier this year.
In other news on Thursday, a powerful bomb ripped through a major
natural gas pipeline in southern Dagestan, cutting gas supplies to
southern parts of the republic and northern Azerbaijan.
Another bomb went off under a freight train outside Makhachkala early
on Thursday. There were no casualties in the attack.
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