Russian police have shot dead three people suspected of being members of an undisclosed terrorist organisation in a shootout in the village of Islamey in the Baksan District of Kabarda-Balkaria.
The shootout reportedly took place on the morning of 1 August, but was only disclosed by the authorities on Monday.
Statements issued by the authorities have said that officers from Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the National Guard (Rosgvardiya) had confronted the suspects in a vehicle. According to the official version, those in the car allegedly opened fire after being ordered to surrender and were subsequently killed in the shootout. None of the officers were injured.
The statement did not provide the names, ages, citizenship, places of residence, criminal records, or any confirmed affiliations of the deceased with terrorist organisations. No video footage from the scene, forensic reports, eyewitness accounts, or other forms of evidence were presented to substantiate the claims made.
Law enforcement also alleged that the people had been preparing a terrorist attack targeting security personnel. They claim to have found firearms, improvised explosive devices, and ammunition at the scene. Authorities further claimed that the people were members of a terrorist organisation banned in Russia. However, as with previous similar incidents, the name of the organisation and details of its activities in the republic were not disclosed.
A criminal case has been opened posthumously against the deceased under several articles of the criminal code, including those covering the illegal possession of weapons, the illegal manufacture of explosives, and attempted murder of law enforcement officers. The case is being handled by the Investigative Committee.
In recent years, Kabarda-Balkaria has seen repeated operations in which the FSB and Interior Ministry announced the ‘neutralisation’ of alleged members of terrorist groups. These operations have usually been conducted as counter-terrorism operations, but in none of the known cases have the authorities provided independent proof of the suspects’ links to extremist or terrorist organisations.
In one such incident in December 2022, two men were killed on the outskirts of Nalchik. The FSB claimed they were planning a terrorist attack against a military enlistment office and that they had been acting on orders from Ukrainian intelligence. These claims have not been independently verified, and the identities of the killed were not disclosed.
In July 2020, four alleged militants were killed in the Chegem District. Authorities claimed they were affiliated with the Islamic State, which is banned in Russia, but no evidence was presented.
In the early 2000s, Kabarda-Balkaria was one of the regions in the North Caucasus most affected by armed insurgency. In 2005, the republic’s capital, Nalchik, witnessed a large-scale attack on security service buildings, which resulted in the deaths of over 50 people, including law enforcement officers and civilians.
In 2010, Islamey, where the recent shooting took place, was the site of a sabotage attack on the Baksan hydroelectric power station. Explosives damaged equipment and injured security guards. A militant group affiliated with the so-called Caucasus Emirate claimed responsibility for the attack.
