A leader of the Shariat armed group killed in Dagestan

Makhachkala, January 14, Interfax - Shamil Abidov, a leader of an illegal armed group known under the name Shariat, was killed in a special operation in Dagestan's Sergokala district on Saturday.

"He had been hiding in an abandoned house in the outskirts of the village of Urakhi," a Dagestani police source told Interfax.

A belt containing explosives was strapped to Abidov's body, which indicates that he apparently failed to activate it before he was killed, the source said.

A Kalashnikov assault rifle, several rounds of ammunition for an under-barrel grenade launcher, and a bag with medicines, food, and warm clothing were found in Abidov's hideout.

A Dagestani police officer working at the scene told Interfax that Abidov was tracked down with the assistance of local residents.

A police operative, who shielded people from a grenade thrown by Abidov with his own body, was wounded and later taken to the Sergokala district hospital.

Another militant, Telman Idrisov, was killed in an operation in the same district on Friday.

A manhunt for Abidov was started on Friday but was suspended at nightfall. The operation was resumed Saturday morning.

Abidov was on the federal and international wanted lists on suspicion of committing a series of terrorist attacks and killing police officers in Dagestan in 2002-2005. He was considered a close aide to Shariat leader Rasul Makasharipov, who was killed in Makhachkala last June.