On December 27, law enforcers in the Volgograd Region, Southern Russia, detained more Chechen rebels who, reportedly, belong to the notorious warlord Arbi Barayev’s force.

The suspects are said to have arrived in the region in order to carry out terrorist acts. On December 24th twenty-four suspected Chechen rebels were arrested and on the 25th and 26th three more ‘bandits’ were detained in the Volgograd region. The operation to foil the terrorists’ plans involved all the regional law enforcement agencies: the Prosecutor’s Office, Federal Security Service (FSB) department, Interior Ministry’s chief department and the regional department for organized crime. None of the agencies involved provided any detailed account of the operation and reported Press only gave the numbers of arrested suspects. It has been revealed that all the men had been instructed to penetrate into the Volgograd Region, blend with local residents of Chechen nationality, who have long since been settled in the region, and plant bombs and kidnap people. Investigators are now questioning the detainees. Two of them are suspected of planting a bomb in May in the vicinity of 11th garrison. Two soldiers were killed and fifteen injured in the explosion.