Insurgents attack in Ingushetia

Around 11 pm on 21 June 2004 more than 200 insurgents attacked Nazran and Karabulak, towns in the North Caucasian republic of Ingushetia, which borders Chechnyai. Militants divided into groups of 20-30 stormed 15 government buildings including the 503 Army Regiment HQ, the Interior Ministry HQ, and the base of an FSB border guard unit, an arms depot and the local police headquarters. The insurgents were led by Shamil Basayev and consisted of both Chechen and Ingush fightersii. Their main objective was to eliminate law enforcement personnel. Dressed in camouflage uniforms and wearing masks, the insurgents stopped people in the streets, asked for their identification documents and killed all those who had law enforcement personnel ID. They even established their own checkpoints during the raid.

According to official data, the insurgents killed 62 law enforcement officials in total, including the Ingush minister of internal affairs with his deputy, two prosecutors and 12 FSB officers.

The attack was well coordinated: at the same time as the main attack a group of 35 militants approached the Ministry of Internal Affairs arms depot in Nazran, where they found over 1,500 Kalashnikovs and a large quantity of ammunition. Using lorries they had commandeered, the rebels loaded them with the weapons and safely left the area. The loading took 3-4 hours, during which time the insurgents continued to attack military facilities and prevented any attempts to recapture the guns. The entire raid lasted less than five hours, although federal army troops managed to reach Nazran only at 4 am of the following day, when the fighting was over.

Agentura.Ru, March 14, 2011