Leader’s Aide Hurt in Fatal Chechen Attack

Gunmen fired on the Chechen president’s car as he was driving to work, injuring a top presidential aide, the Interfax news agency reported. Danilbek Tamkayev suffered multiple gunshot wounds and was reported in critical condition, Interfax said. His brother, Adam, was mortally wounded in the attack on the outskirts of Chechnya’s capital, Grozny. Tamkayev is one of President Aslan Maskhadov’s closest aides, Interfax said. Government officials in Chechnya have been subject to frequent ambushes and kidnappings since the republic’s 1994-97 war for independence. Still nominally part of Russia but no longer under Moscow’s control, Chechnya is plagued by armed gangs and lawlessness.