BARNAUL, August 29 (Itar-Tass) — The names of the five special task force police officers killed by a contract border guard in Dagestan will forever remain the list of Altai Territory police personnel, the press service of the regional department of the Interior Ministry told Itar-Tass.
"Five staff of the special task force center for the Altai Territory died in the line of duty: Lt-Col Sergei Blynsky, Major Ivan Sobin, Major Alexander Shushakov, Major Viktor Shenkel and Captain Sergei Krivenko," the press service said.
"Each of them has served in special task force police for years. They were repeatedly sent on secondment to the North Caucasus region, where they fulfilled difficult and important tasks. They were worthy representatives of interior bodies: reliable, responsible and truly professional. Each devoted his life to his profession. Each is survived by his parents, wife and children. It is a huge tragedy for the whole Altai Territory and police, and irreplaceable loss for their relatives.
Earlier reports said seven servicemen had been killed and another six had been wounded in a shootout at the military unit in the village of Belidzhi in Dagestan's Derbent district. The military unit accommodates a joint brigade of special task force police from the Altai Territory.
"A contract serviceman, aged 31, opened fire with his service assault rifle at the interior troops guarding the barracks whereupon he entered the barracks and started indiscriminate shooting inside," a police officer told Tass on Wednesday. The attacker was identified as foreman of the guards and logistics unit of the FSB border department for Dagestan Ramazan Aliyev.
"A preliminary probe ascertained Aliyev went on 24-hour duty at 10 o'clock on August 28. An AK-74 assault rifle and two magazines with 50 rounds were issued to him. At around 16:00, the serviceman walked up to the checkpoint and fired at least 30 shots at serviceman without apparent reasons," an official at the Main Military Investigation Department /GVSU/ of the Investigation Committee /SK/ said. Two servicemen were killed and another two were injured.
Aliyev then went to the building accommodating special task force police from the Altai Territory who were in Dagestan on secondment. He fired at least 30 shots there, killing five police and founding another four.
The attacker was killed in return fire.
The injured servicemen were rushed to the Derbent central hospital.
A group of investigators went to the scene. It inspected the victims' bodies and ordered to carry out eight expert examinations. Sixteen eye-witnesses have been questioned, the GVSU said.
An additional inspection of the scene in which forensic experts will take part, will be carried out under the supervision of a deputy head of the GVSU department for the Southern Military District.
Criminal proceedings were opened over assassination of law-enforcement officer /Article 317 of Russia's penal code/, according to Altai police.