Russian security forces killed 49 militants in a long-term, sweeping operation across Russia’s volatile north Caucasus. Nine of those killed were considered to be “odious” guerilla commanders in the drive to carve out an Islamist state in the region.
The “large-scale and massive” September-October operation in several republics in the region involved forces from both the Federal Security Service and the Interior Ministry, Russia’s National Antiterrorism Committee (NAK) said on Sunday.
“The coordinated action helped terminate the activities of several odious gang leaders, gang members and their associates, substantially damaging the system under which the bandits operate,” Interfax quotes a NAK statement as saying.