A law enforcement source quoted by TASS named those killed as "members of illegal armed groups," a term also used by officials to describe Islamist insurgents in the North Caucasus.
TASS, atsaucoties uz avotu tiesībsargājošās iestādēs, ziņoja, ka nošautie bijuši "nelegālu bruņotu grupējumu locekļi", kā parasti tiek dēvēti islāmistu kaujinieki Ziemeļkaukāzā.