Makhachkala version

An attempt was made on the life of the Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs of Dagestan, Major General Magomed Omarov, yesterday morning in Makhachkala. On one of the streets, terrorists planted a controlled bomb on an officer on his way to work. As a result, the general himself was shell-shocked, and his driver and guards were wounded. The city prosecutor's office opened a criminal case for an attempt on the life of a statesman. It has not yet been possible to detain the miners in hot pursuit; it is also not clear who tried to eliminate the deputy minister and why. Over the past six months, this is the first high-profile assassination attempt in Dagestan, where 2-3 years ago terrorist attacks against local officials were almost commonplace. As you know, the mayor of Makhachkala, Said Amirov, alone survived 11 official attempts on his life.

According to the Dagestan prosecutor's office, on Monday at about 7.00 the general's motorcade from the residential microdistrict of Makhachkala, where he lives, left for the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The convoy of Mr. Omarov's own Volga and an escort car with VAZ-21099 guards quickly reached the city center through still deserted streets. But at 7.20, when the motorcade entered the central street of Makhachkala - Lenin Avenue and was leaving the road bridge over the railway tracks, an explosion occurred nearby. Experts established that a homemade radio-controlled bomb was planted on the side of the road. It was made from a standard army detonator and two 200-gram TNT blocks placed in a plastic bottle stuffed with scraps of nails and bolts.

As a result of the explosion, General Omarov received a concussion, and the drivers of his Volga and the escort vehicle received shrapnel wounds. All three victims were sent to the Ministry of Internal Affairs hospital; doctors assess their condition as stable.

According to Magomed Omarov’s colleagues, the assassination attempt could have been organized by Wahhabis supporting Chechen separatists. In August 1999, during the militant attack on Dagestan, it was he who was one of the main organizers of the militia in the regions of Dagestan bordering Chechnya. However, the actual “official” versions of the assassination attempt are also being studied. In the ministry, he oversees the public security police service, and in this capacity is directly related to the work of riot police, maintaining order in markets and the fight against poaching.

Alexander SASHIN