KHANKALA. Sept 22 (Interfax-AVN) - Police officers have prevented a series of terrorist acts and helped to kill a number of notorious field commanders by infiltrating a rebel group acting in Chechnya's Shelkovskaya district.
Several mid-rank commanders were killed or detained, two terrorist acts were prevented and a large amount of arms were confiscated, representative of the regional headquarters for the anti-terrorist campaign in the North Caucasus Colonel Ilya Shabalkin told Interfax on Monday. He said vehicles stuffed with explosives were planned to be used in the terrorist acts.
The policemen will be decorated with state awards, Shabalkin said.
In June 2003 the command of the anti-guerilla campaign in the North Caucasus formed a group to infiltrate rebel units, he said. The group obtained reliable information leading to the whereabouts of Magomed-Sayed Zhansayev, emir of the Wahhabi community of the Urus- Martan district. He was killed in July 2003.
The group also obtained information which helped to find and kill the organizer of many terrorist acts, Musa Khadzhimuratov, in the Chernorechye settlement in the western outskirts of Grozny, Shabalkin said.
Khadzhimuratov commanded guards of Chechen separatist leader Akhmed Zakayev, who is currently in the United Kingdom. Khadzhimuratov was directly linked with the abduction of presidential representative in Chechnya Valentin Vlasov and General Gennady Shpigun, Shabalkin said.
Khadzhimuratov had a map of rebel bases in the Vedeno, Itum- Kale and other districts of Chechnya. More than 20 rebels were killed in bombing raids on the bases.
The policemen also obtained information about the location of weapons and ammunition caches in the Shatoi, Urus-Martan, Shelkovskaya and other districts, Shabalkin said.
"The terrorist acts were planned for public places to kill and wound a large number of people and destabilize the districts and the republic as a whole," Shabalkin said.
The policemen also obtained information about the plans of a rebel group under Ruslan Gelayev's command to carry out terrorist acts shortly before the presidential elections in Chechnya. These attacks included plans to blow up a polling station. The rebels intended to use two Fagot anti-tank missile systems, one unguided missile and mines, Shabalkin said.
"The rebel ringleaders trusted the policemen so much that they instructed them to carry out a terrorist attack and to hide armaments. The armaments were found two days ago near the village of Nikolayevskaya in the Shelkovskaya district. There were two Fagot anti-tank missile systems, an unguided missile and a mine," Shabalkin said.
Five members of rebel groups were detained on Sunday. The policemen reported on them shortly before the operation had been completed. The policemen also resumed contacts with several rebels under Ruslan Gelayev who are currently in the Shelkovskaya district. Mediated negotiations with the rebels are underway to persuade them to leave the armed unit and surrender to the police.