MOSCOW. Jan 20 (Interfax) - Six militants, among them terrorist leader and field commander Aslan Byutukayev, have been neutralized in Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, head of the Russian internal republic, said on Telegram.
A special operations regiment of Chechnya's Interior Ministry "carried out a successful operation on the outskirts of the Katar-Yurt village, resulting in the elimination of Aslan Byutukayev's gang made up of six people wanted by the federal authorities," Kadyrov said.
"All six members of Byutukayev's gang were neutralized on the spot. None managed to escape. Those who have been identified so far are Aslan Byutukayev, Saraliyev, Isa Bazarkayev, and Dorshayev," he said.
Thus, "all gangs in the Chechen Republic have been eliminated," Kadyrov said, adding that he personally briefed the Russian president on the results of the operation.
Byutukayev led the so-called forest jamaat. Along with terrorist leader Doku Umarov, who was neutralized earlier, Byutukayev was implicated in a criminal case opened into the Domodedovo Airport terrorist attack, which claimed the lives of 37 people. Following the explosion, Umarov and Byutukayev issued a video claiming responsibility for plotting the terrorist act.
It was reported in March 2011 that Byutukayev might have been killed during a security operation in Ingushetia, but this information was not confirmed at the time. The Russian Investigative Committee charged Byutukayev with setting up a stable armed group and a criminal community.