MOSCOW: Chechen strongman Ramzan Kadyrov said Sunday his forces had detained more than 50 insurgents linked to Daesh, completing a major security operation.
Kadyrov wrote on Instagram on Sunday that security forces had captured an armed group coordinated by a Chechen militant located in Syria, with the latest arrests taking place in various locations on Saturday.
“Now the whole group of bandits has been neutralized and more than 50 members have been brought to police stations,” Kadyrov said,
He also posted a video of himself speaking to a group of the captured men in Chechen.
The Moscow-back leader of the North Caucasus region called the operation — planned since last summer — “a big success for the law enforcement agencies.”
The Russian North Caucasus is one of the major sources of foreign militants fighting in Syria and Iraq.
The Chechen leader said police on Saturday detained several participants of the armed group including an “especially dangerous terrorist” named as Imran Datsayev who threw a hand grenade but was captured alive.
He said Datsayev testified that he received orders from Daesh to kill a police officer and had killed a police sergeant last November.
50 militants arrested, says Chechen leader
Updated 15 January 2017