"The special operation was conducted in Grozny [the North Caucasus republic's capital], Ruslan Alkhanov said. The gunman, Rustam Basayev, "put up resistance but was killed in an exchange of gunfire," the minister said.
Basayev was found to be in possession of a self-loading PSS handgun which investigators said he recently used to kill three Chechen policemen, a riot policeman from West Siberia's Khanty-Mansiysk, and several civilians from Ingushetia, a republic bordering on Chechnya.
The Chechen minister said the militant was close to separatist leader Doku Umarov.
Chechnya was devastated by two military campaigns in 1994-1996 and 1999-2001, after which Moscow significantly scaled down its military presence in the republic. However, sporadic fighting and militant attacks continue in the province.
