A traffic police officer in Nalchik, Kabarda–Balkaria sustained serious injuries after being stabbed by two attackers. One of the attackers was shot dead, while the other, reportedly a minor, was detained.
The two unidentified assailants attacked traffic police officers Aznaur Slanov and Astemir Kanukov while they were patrolling central Nalchik on Friday.
According to Izvestia, Slanov had felt an impact on his patrol vehicle. When he got out to investigate, one of the attackers rushed at him with a knife, stabbing him at least 11 times in an attempt to grab his service weapon.
Surrounding law enforcement officers responded with gunfire, killing one of the attackers and wounding and detaining the other. The detained suspect is reportedly underage, though law enforcement agencies have not officially confirmed this. The Russian state-run news agency TASS also reported the arrest of a second attacker, citing a source in the security services.
In the course of the shootout, a bystander, 21-year-old Azret Kumykov, was wounded in the leg by police officers and taken to hospital, according to local social media channels.
According to the Russian media outlet Kommersant, the detained suspect is reportedly being investigated for possible links to a terrorist organisation — possibly the Islamic State.
Security officials have not released the identity of the deceased attacker, but Russian state-run TV channel REN TV identified him as 20-year-old Alan Kardanov.
‘Security forces are conducting searches at the addresses of the individuals who attacked the police officers in Nalchik. One of them is a local resident, the other arrived from a nearby village. Their identities have been established’, reported the Telegram channel SHOT, which is linked to Russian security services, without providing further details about the attackers.
The injured police officer was taken to the Republican Clinical Hospital in critical condition. He underwent emergency surgery, and the Ministry of Health described his condition as ‘extremely serious’.
The republic’s Investigative Committee has announced that it was investigating the incident as an attempt on the life of a law enforcement officer.
The Head of Kabarda-Balkaria, Kazbek Kokov, declared that those who ‘violate the constitutional order will receive no mercy’ and will ‘be eliminated’. In a meeting with his staff, Kokov also claimed that the incident was part of ‘attempts to break up the country’.
According to the independent Russian outlet Caucasian Knot, this is the first armed incident in the Russian republic in the past 15 months, with the last case involving armed militants taking place in April 2024.
Elizaveta Chukharova
