MOSCOW, May 21 (Itar-Tass) - With the destruction of the so-called military emir of the terrorist organization Imarat Kavkaz, Dzhamaleil Mutaliyev, who was the "right-hand" man of militants' leader Doku Umarov, the noose is tightening around the latter, a Russian lawmaker told reporters on Tuesday.
"The destruction of the so-called military emir of Imarat Kavkaz is not just a new large success in fighting international terrorism. The special operation in Ingushetia has an important psychological significance. It shows that the noose around the militants' leader is tightening, and that he, too, will be detained or destroyed soon," said Mikhail Starshinov /United Russia faction/, head of the inter-faction group on interaction between civil society institutions and law-enforcement bodies and secret services.
According to the FSB, Dhamaleil Mutaliyev was one of the leaders of militants operating in Ingushetia. "He was responsible for funding terrorists and providing them with the means of conducting armed struggle; he was also involved in preparing and organizing the terrorist attacks that caused many casualties, using suicide bombers and car bombs, in August 2010 in a Vladikavkaz market and at the police post near the village of Chermen in September 2012," the National Anti-Terrorist Committee /NAK/ said.
There were no casualties among police or civilians during the operation.
The NAK operations headquarters launched an anti-terrorist operation targeting a house in Bariyev Street in Nazran, Ingushetia, at 04:30, Moscow time, following a tip that a group of gunmen was hiding here.
The NAK negotiated with the blocked militants, but they refused to surrender. However, they let a woman with a baby leave. The woman confirmed there were armed people in the house. Once she walked out of the cordon area, the gunmen fired on police and tried to break through. They were killed in return fire by special task force police, the NAK said in a report.
The bodies of two gunmen were found at the scene of the shootout. They were identified as Dzhamaleil Mutaliyev, b.1976, and Aliskhan Ozdoyev, b.1986. They were armed with a grenade launcher, a Kalashnikov assault rifle, a pistol and homemade grenades.