Two militants suspected of planning assassination of Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov were killed on Friday night in the republic’s capital of Grozny, a statement from the government of Russia’s North Caucasus republic said.
“Two militants, who arrived in Grozny upon orders from separatist leader Doku Umarov to carry out a terrorist attack against Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, were killed,” the statement said.
The special police operation to neutralize the suspects involved five law enforcers in charge with Khamzat Edilgiriyev, a head of a local police department. The operation was also under a personal control of Kadyrov, the statement said.
Edilgiriyev said, that a police undercover informant earlier passed on to police information that Umarov sent suicide bombers to Grozny having instructed them to kill Kadyrov by all means.
He said the suspects were tracked down and as they left a forest policemen decided to detain them. The suspects, however, put up an armed resistance as they were asked to surrender and were killed in return fire, Edilgiriyev added.
He also said the suspects carried fire arms and explosives. Police is now working to establish their identities.
In 2004, Ramzan Kadyrov’s father Akhmad, who was the leader of Chechnya at that time, was killed in a bomb blast at a stadium in Chechnya's Grozny.
