Russian troops have launched a hunt to track down the militants suspected of killing Anatoly Kyarov, the head of the Department for Combating Organized Crime in the Kabardino-Balkaria republic, near Chechnya, in the North Caucasus.

Kyarov was killed in the republic’s capital of Nalchik on Saturday night. His car was attacked by unidentified gunmen during which he was seriously wounded.

Kyarov was rushed to a nearby hospital in hospital in Nalchik, where he died, Russian news agencies reported. His colleague, who was inside the car, was also killed and another three people at the site were wounded. Police in Kabardino-Balkaria have been put on high alert.

The Interior Ministry of Russia’s internal republic of Kabardino-Balkaria has announced a large reward for information about the suspected militants.

“The Interior Ministry has asked citizens to help track down the criminals, who killed the head of the Department for Combating Organized Crime, and announced a large reward for information about the unidentified gunmen,” the press service of the republic’s Interior Ministry told Interfax news agency on Sunday.

Last Thursday, six militants were killed in an anti-terrorist operation in Russia’s southern republic of Dagestan, near Chechen border.

The commander of the Russian Interior Ministry Troops, General Nikolai Rogozhkin told reporters here on January 11 that between 500 and 700 militants were still operating in Russia’s troubled North Caucasus region.

Although the active phase of the anti-terrorism campaign in the North Caucasus officially ended in 2001, periodic bombings and clashes between militants and federal troops still disrupt Chechnya and nearby regions, including Daghestan and Ingushetia.

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