Armed group kills three Police officers in Russia’s North Caucasus

Three police officers were killed in a shootout with armed gang members In Russia’s Volatile Ingushetia Region on Thursday.

Three police officers have been killed and eight injured in a shoot-out with an armed group in the Malgobek district of Russia’s North Caucasus region of Ingushetia, independent news agencies reported on April 6.

“During a shootout with a gang hiding in a private house in the village of Zyazikov-Yurt, three policemen were killed and eight more were injured,” Russian news agencies cited law enforcement sources as saying.

Russian media reported that it was the third attack on law enforcement officials in Russia’s North Caucasus over the past week.

Kremlin hawks argue that a necessary battle is taking place against extremists bent on establishing an Islamic caliphate across the Caucasus. But many analysts believe that, while a small vanguard of Islamists with links to international jihadi movements does exist, aggrieved relatives who have joined the rebellion to avenge the brutal tactics of the security forces are doing most of the fighting.

Russia’s North Caucasus is a very problematic region for the Russian regime due to the large number of those who disagree with the central government and Moscow’s policy, and especially the impact of large-scale corruption in the region.