Murderers of Dagestani policemen identified

The murderers of the policemen in Khasavyurt, Dagestan, have been identified, Russian Deputy Prosecutor General Vladimir Kolesnikov told reporters.

Unfortunately, the criminals were not arrested right after the murder, he said.

The murdered criminal police investigators and officer had been inquiring into criminal activity of Chechnya-based sabotage terrorist groups perpetrated in Dagestan, said Mr Kolesnikov. One of the groups had been sent to Dagestan by Rappani Khalilov, a warlord of Chechen extraction. "Ten men from the group have been detained, their cases being tried in court. However, many of the group are still on the wanted list," said the deputy prosecutor general.

Five policemen were killed in Khasavyurt on Tuesday morning when their car came under automatic weapons fire.

A relative criminal case was opened.