Weapons cache found in Kabardino-Balkaria

Law-enforcement bodies in Kabardino-Balkaria found a cache where militants had kept powerful bombs. The cache was found in an demolished private house in the Baksan district, a representative of the information center of the National Antiterrorist Committee /NAK/ told Itar-Tass on Thursday. The cellar was well-hidden by structures and militants also used as living quarters. They made explosives devices there, too. The cellar was equipped with a video surveillance system and uninterrupted power sources and had several exits. Five homemade bombs were found along with magnets to attach them to cars, as well as many bomb parts, including 50-kilogram sacks with saltpeter and aluminum powder and destructive agents. The bombs were of different designs. "One weighed 15 kilograms and was fitted into a bucket filled with destructive agents, such as pieces of reinforced steel and expansion bolts; while another two were put in 15- to 30-centimeter-long plastic pipes and massed six kilograms," NAK reported. Law-enforcers also found in the cellar an AK-74 assault rifles, two grenade launcher rounds, a map of local terrain, a walkie-talkie, medicines, foodstuffs, sets of clothes and outfit, a utility vest, a license plate, and the service certificate of a special task force Lt-Col killed by militants in December 2011. "Federal Security Service experts ascertained that the cellar had been used for propaganda of terrorism among young people, and that militants had videoed their statements in the cellar to recruit more followers," the NAK said. A considerable quantity of extremist literature was found at the scene. The persons detained during the special operation told police about a cache in the Tersk district of Kabardino-Balkaria, in which a machine gun was found. Six criminal cases were opened. The search and operation are continuing, a NAK official added.