ROSTOV-ON-DON, Russia (AP) — A suspected Islamic militant leader has been killed in a volatile North Caucasus province, the Interior Ministry said Thursday.
Anzor Astemirov was killed Wednesday in the city of Nalchik, the regional capital of the province of Kabardino-Balkariya, according to Roman Shchekotin of the ministry’s branch in southern Russia. Astemirov was killed when he exchanged shots with police who tried to detain him, Shchekotin said.
Astemirov has been accused of leading a raid by Islamic militants on police and government offices in Nalchik in October 2005. About 140 people died, including 94 militants.
Astemirov was considered to be the leader of Islamic resistance in Kabardino-Balkariya, which along with other southern provinces has been rocked by violence stemming from two separatist wars in Chechnya in the past 15 years.
Rights groups say endemic poverty and the government’s heavy-handed treatment of young observant Muslims has fueled resistance in the region.
