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In Dagestan, Investigators Hunt for Child Killers

Investigators are considering dozens of possible suspects in the violent slayings a security officer's school-age children in rural Dagestan, with Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev confident that the crime will be solved, Interfax reported.

More than 40 suspects are being questioned, and more than 10 have been detained in connection with the killings, which took in the village of Belidzhi, near the border with Azerbaijan, Investigative Committee spokespeople said.

Speaking at a meeting with law enforcement officials, Kolokolstev offered sympathies to the officer and his family and said he was sure investigators would crack the case.

Returning home Monday evening, the officer and his wife discovered their two sons, whose ages have been variously reported as 11- and 12-years old and 11- and 9-years old, dead with multiple cuts and stab wounds, Interfax reported late Monday.

Also, a box containing valuables and 300,000 rubles ($10,000) was missing, leading investigators to suspect that the boys were victims of an armed attack on their house. A criminal case into charges of murder and violent robbery has been opened.

The officer works for a division of the Interior Ministry that guards apartments and other forms of property, much like a private security firm does.

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