Chechen authorities are reportedly on the lookout for a potential suicide bomber in the regional capital Grozny, less than two weeks after five policemen were killed in the first such attack there this year, news agency Kavkazsky Uzel reported Thursday, citing unidentified sources in law enforcement.
The suspect, identified in the report as 33-year-old Grozny native Aslan Aliskhanov, has reportedly been on a police wanted list for years for alleged involvement with illegal armed groups.
After receiving information that Aliskhanov may have plans to stage an attack in the Chechen capital, police began distributing flyers with his photograph to residents in case they see him.
"Information on the terrorist has been posted in the most crowded places throughout Grozny, so that residents can quickly notify police if they encounter him," the source was cited as saying by Kavkazsky Uzel.
Residents interviewed by the news website expressed alarm over the appearance of the flyers posted by police, which openly warn that Aliskhanov is likely planning a suicide bombing.
"I don't even know how to behave if I suddenly see somebody resembling this suicide bomber. What if I call police and it turns out not to be him, but they just start shooting without getting to the bottom of the matter? I don't want an innocent person to suffer because of me," one resident, identified only as a college student named Mansur, was cited as saying.
Another resident, identified as Tamara U., told the publication that it was worrisome that police did not know when, how or where the suspect might be planning an attack.
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