Militants killed in Grozny Fri had plotted acts of sabotage

The group of militants killed in Chechnya’s capital Grozny on Friday had plotted a number of terrorist attacks, the republic’s head Ramzan Kadyrov said on Friday.

According to the Chechen leader, the local law enforcers had prior knowledge of preparations for acts of sabotage in Grozny.

"We had information about these people. We had descriptions of their appearance and been taking proper counter-measures. This helped us prevent potential high-profile crimes that might have caused heavy casualties, Kadyrov said.

He praised the law enforcers for a prompt and effective special operation.

"We know that the plotters had been going to stage a number of explosions in Grozny. These dregs of society had only one task - causing harm to other people. We will never let them and their likes violate law and order in Chechnya," Kadyrov said.

Earlier, Chechnya’s Interior Minister Ruslan Alkhanov said two militants were eliminated in the Chechen capital. Both were trapped in a private home. When urged to surrender, they responded with fire, slightly injuring two police. Both were killed in the shootout that followed. The identity of both men was established. According to the anti-terrorist operation headquarters the group they had been members of was responsible for a number of terrorist attacks, including the attempt at a large-scale terrorist attack during festive events in Grozny on October 2014.