GROZNY. April 22 (Interfax-AVN) - The Russian Interior Ministry department for the Chechen republic intends to arrest executors and masterminds of the April 18 terror attack before the end of the week, a spokesman for the department told Interfax- Military News Agency on Monday.
As many as 18 servicemen of the Chechen special police forces were killed as a result of the attack.
The spokesman said that servicemen of the department had already apprehended five suspects; two of them were identified as Sultan Aliev and Vakha Tepsurkayev; the other suspects, Ruslan and Rustam, refused to identify themselves and gave no information on their residence site. A woman who provided the terrorists with shelter while they were preparing for the attack was arrested, too.
The spokesman said that it was proven that the attack in Grozny was masterminded by Zelimkhan, an Akhmadov brother, born in the Urus-Martan district. Zelimkhan is head of Grozny-based Wahhabi guerillas.
According to the data provided by the Interior Ministry department, Akhmadov had reported to field commander Khalid Dukuzov before the latter was killed in the course of a special operation two weeks ago. Now Akhmadov reports to his brother Rezvan Akhmadov. Zelimkhan and Rezvan command up to 40 small guerilla groups.
According to radio reports intercepted by Chechen police, guerillas intended to revenge themselves upon policemen who arrested 12 guerillas and their informers in the course of the Sarancha and Sanitar special operations carried out in Grozny. Among those apprehended are the so-called emirs Vakha Atayev, Tamerlan Statbayev, Rustan Guchiyev and Muslim Gazaliyev heading small guerilla groups.