Former official killed in Russia's North Caucasus

AP ^ | June 13, 2009 | SHAMSUDIN BOKOV

[Tailgunner Joe]

NAZRAN, Russia -- Gunmen killed a former top government minister in Ingushetia as he stood outside his home in the violent southern Russian region Saturday, law enforcement officials said. ....

Two gunmen sprayed Aushev with automatic weapon fire as he got out of his car at the gate outside his home in the region's main city, Nazran, around 6:30 p.m. (1430 GMT), the regional Interior Ministry's press service said.

He died en route to the hospital.

Aushev was vice premier under former Ingush President Murat Zyazikov, a KGB agent who was widely reviled by many Ingush for his repressive policies.

Aushev, who was responsible for relations with law enforcement agencies in the region, resigned from the government when Zyazikov was replaced by the Kremlin in October. Russian news agencies said he had not worked since leaving government.

While in office, Aushev was attacked several times, and his home was hit by mortars, according to the government's service, but he was never wounded. ....

Earlier this week, Chechnya's Kremlin-backed president, Ramzan Kadyrov, said in an interview that the United States was to blame for the North Caucasus' problems.

"It is precisely from the side of America that work is being carried out aimed at the disintegration of the sovereign Russian state. It is not terrorists, not Islamists," he said according to transcript posted on his government Web site.

The Americans "are creating problems for Russia; they want to pull Russia down... They have such a system working - all sorts of social organizations created to spread rumors and gossip, to agitate people; they know that in the Caucasus the only way to create problems for Russia is on a religious basis," Kadyrov said.

Associated Press Writer Sergei Venyavsky contributed to this report from Rostov-on-Don.

[Judges Gone Wild]

Let’s see here ... A government official resigns in protest of his superior being replaced by the Kremlin. Only the government in Russia has automatic weapons. The citizens have no firearms. The former govt. official is gunned down outside his home. There is nothing in the story to indicate that the govt is looking for the gunmen. The United States is blamed for stirring up trouble in the region, deflecting attention away from The Kremlin. Lacking any further information, I would say this was a hit ordered by The Kremlin.

[JasonC]

Earth to tiny tyrants - we don't mess with your world because we can't be bothered to notice that you exist.

[gandalftb]

He was assassinated by the Jamaat Shariat headed by Ibrahim Gadzhidadaev, Amir Jamaat Gimrinskogo, Vilayat Dagestan.

BTW, the article doesn't mention that Aushev was President of Ingushetia for 8 years, was widely appreciated as peacemaker. Bad, bad neighborhood.

[fieldmarshaldj]

RIP.