By Country / Russia
Gunmen Seize Relative Of Ingushetian President
March 23, 2007
March 23, 2007 -- Gunmen have kidnapped the uncle of Ingushetia's President Murat Zyazikov.
Police say gunmen seized Uruskhan Zyazikov in the village of Barsuki near the republic's capital, Nazran, today.
Police said two of Uruskhan Zyazikov's relatives were injured in the abduction.
Kidnappings and shoot-outs are common in Ingushetia, a Russian region bordering Chechnya.
Murat Zyazikov became Ingushetia's president in 2002 as part of a Kremlin effort to crack down on crime and prevent the Chechen insurgency from spreading.
(Reuters, AP, Interfax, ITAR-TASS)