Three Arrested Over Sufi Leader's Killing In Daghestan

December 12, 2012

Three suspects are under arrest for allegedly helping a female suicide bomber kill an influential moderate Muslim leader in Russia's Republic of Daghestan.

Authorities in the North Caucasus republic said on December 12 that the suspects escorted the bomber to the home of Daghestan's leading Muslim Sufi cleric, Said Afandi Atsayev, in August.

Atsayev and six others were killed in the attack.

A provincial spokesman said the suspects were detained on December 9 during antiterror raids on three villages.

Several attacks on moderate Muslim leaders in Daghestan followed Atsayev's murder.

Daghestan has become one of the most volatile republics in Russia's North Caucasus in recent years.

Islamic insurgents professing extreme forms of Islam regularly attack moderate Muslims, police, and officials.

Based on reporting by AP, Interfax, and ITAR-TASS