Militant Leader Suspected of Ties With ISIL Killed in Russia's Caucasus

A suspected militant leader, who pledged allegiance to ISIL terrorist group was killed Tuesday in Russia's North Caucasus republic of Kabardino-Balkaria, Russia's National Anti-Terrorism Committee (NAK) said.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Zankishiev pledged allegiance to ISIL in the spring of 2015 and began recruiting potential Islamic State followers via the Internet.

The militant is said to have organized the murders of officials working in the Office of the Public Prosecutor and Kabardino-Balkarian police officers. In July, he allegedly staged the assassination of a prosecutor’s office employee in front of the victim's 10-year-old son.

"The militant leader was killed in a firefight. According to preliminary data, he has been identified as Robert Zankishev, with alias Abdullah, a leader of one of the armed militant groups in Kabardino-Balkaria," NAK said in a statement.

According to NAK, a pistol, an improvised explosive device with a total capacity of about 3 kilograms of TNT as well as ammunition was seized in the apartment where Zankishiev was holed up with a number of other militants, in a multistory residential building in the city of Nalchik.

Earlier in the day, a counter-terrorism operation was launched in Kabardino-Balkaria. Residents of nearby building were evacuated to avoid casualties.