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CHECHNYA: Anti-Terrorist Operation is Ongoing in Grozny After a Gun Battle
About 16 people have died after a gun attack in Chechen capital, Grozny. Rebel gunmen arrived at 1:00 (22:00 GTM Wednesday) in cars, and fired on a traffic police checkpoint before attacking a media building and a school. Chechnya’s Moskow-backed president, Ramzan Kadyrov said the situation was under control and none of the attackers had escaped. Gunfire rang out and buildings were set ablaze in Grozny this morning as the Chechen capital witnessed a battle that left at least ten policemen and nine militants dead.
This is the most serious violence in Grozny for some time and will be another worry for President Putin, amid a serious downturn in the Russian economy, the BBC’s Sarah Rainsford reports from Moscow. Mr Putin prides himself on bringing stability to Chechnya after two bloody, separatist wars there since the break-up of the Soviet Union, our correspondent adds.
Grozny was recently rebuilt after lying in ruins for years following separatist wars with Russia in the 1990’s. Europe’s largest mosque, a copy of Istanbul’s Blue Mosque, is its centrepiece, but Grozny was hit by a suicide bomber in October who killed five policemen and injured 12 others when stopped and asked for his ID.
Sources:
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-30323751
http://www.rferl.org/content/caucasus-report-chechen-insurgents-grozny-gun-battle/26724495.html
