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Russian troops comb city for militants
(AP)
Updated: 2005-10-15 10:31
Russian security forces combed a city of shattered glass
and bloodstains Friday, searching for militants amid fears they may have melted
into the civilian population to regroup after fierce attacks that left at least
108 people dead.
Bodies of apparent
militants lie in a street in Nalchik, Thursday, Oct. 13, 2005 in this
image taken from television.[AP] |
Authorities claimed that all pockets of active fighting had been put down a
day after the attacks and President Vladimir Putin promised all such violence
will be put down "hard and consistently," but the bloodshed underlined the
spreading violence in the restive Caucasus region.
As officials announced successful operations to liquidate rebels on Friday,
it became clear that security forces had rescued nearly 20 hostages in various
offices around this southern Russian city — and killed dozens of militants.
The head of the regional government, Gennady Gubin, said Nalchik, a city of
235,000 people, was being searched for rebels, according to the Interfax news
agency.
"It is bad that such bandit raids are still possible here (in Russia)," Putin
said. "It's a great tragedy that we are sustaining losses among law enforcement
officers and peaceful civilians."
Chechen rebels have claimed involvement in Thursday's
attacks on police and security facilities. The fighting in the
Kabardino-Balkariya republic near Chechnya has raised fears that Islamic
militants who have been fighting Russian forces for most of the past decade were
opening a new front in the troubled Caucasus region.
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