PYATIGORSK, December 9 (Itar-Tass) —— About 300 militants, including the leaders of the so-called Dagestani and Kabarda velayats and the Ingush Caliphate, have been killed in the North Caucasus since the beginning of this year, head of the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office Department in the North Caucasian Federal District Artyom Melnikov told reporters on Friday.
In all, the police seized 364 militants and their accomplices and found over 300 caches containing armaments, ammunition, drugs and uniforms in the first nine months of this year.
Over 150 terrorism cases were referred to courts, and 155 criminals were convicted. The Karachayevo-Cherkessia Supreme Court sentenced 14 members of an illegal armed unit for attacking police officers to up to 16 years in custody. The courts of the Stavropol territory and Dagestan passed similar sentences.
Melnikov affirmed the successful operations against abettors of militants. “Such efforts are highly productive in Chechnya, and its example is being followed by other regions,” he said. For instance, an accomplice of militants was sentenced in Kabardino-Balkaria for collecting information about Federal Security Service officers in order to plan attacks and provided militants with vehicles. “He was sentenced to 28 months in custody,” he said. Another accomplice of militants was sentenced to 4.5 years in Chechnya for financing terrorists, Melnikov said.
“On the whole, serious positive results have been achieved since the year beginning,” he said.
He noted that the appeals of law enforcers to businessmen for not concealing the attempts of extortion brought results. “The appeals were heard and tangible results were achieved,” he said. An active accomplice of the Gondulayev gang was seized in Derbent, Dagestan, while extorting $100,000 for local militants. Another militant was seized in Prokhladnoye, Kabardino-Balkaria, for extorting 5 million rubles. A gang perpetrating assaults and robberies in Kabardino-Balkaria for funding local militants was caught.
Not long ago the extremists were using political, religious and other slogans and camouflaged their actions with pseudo-goals, he said. “Now these people have turned into mere bandits who commit assaults, robberies and arsons, which disagree with their pseudo-Sharia norms. They are just bandits, and the police should use regular methods in combating them,” he said.