Two suspected attackers of Ildus Fayzov, head of the Tatarstan Muslims Administration, have been surrounded under a bridge over River Kazanka in the center of the republic, RBC reports.
The police are searching for the murderer of deputy mufti Valiully Yakupov. He was described as a man aged 30-35, 170-175 cm tall, wearing a white shirt.
Press secretary of the Interior Ministry of Tatarstan Maksim Kostromin said that Fayzov’s Toyota Land Cruiser exploded at the Street of Musin. fayzov survived the blast.
Yakupov was shot six times. He managed to reach his car and tell the driver about the attack before dying.
Chechen Leader Ramzan Kadyrov noted that Islamic clergy is often a target of attacks for combating extremism and radicalism. He expressed condolences to Tatarstan President Rustam Minnikhanov and relatives of Yakupov, RIA Novosti reports.
Editor-in-Chief of Vestnik Kavkaza, Alexey Vlasov, noted that it is a challenge for the whole country. It will only result in escalation of the situation both within the Muslim community of Tatarstan and the republic as a whole.
Ismail Agakishiyev, head of the Center for Caucasus Studies of the Russian State University for the Humanities, said that Tatarstan is an example of economic, cultural and political life for the country. What happened there is a big tragedy. He expressed hope that the police would do their best to find organizers of the double-attack.
Tatarstan Interior Minister Artem Khokhorin took the case under personal control. An operative center was formed to investigate the attack. Citizens may send any useful information to the center calling 02.
