Militant's Wife Named As Suicide Bomber Who Killed Leading Daghestan Cleric

Locals line up to block access to the funeral of Sufi Muslim leader Said Efandi Chirkeisky, not far from his burial place in the village of Chirkei, on August 28.

Officials in Russia's volatile North Caucasus republic of Daghestan say a militant's wife carried out the suicide bombing that killed Muslim Sufi cleric Said Efandi Chirkeisky and six other people, including a 12-year-old boy.

According to investigators, the wife, Aminat Saprykina, traveled to Chirkeisky's house to carry out the August 28 attack.

The charismatic Chirkeisky, 74, was a leading Sufi cleric in Daghestan.

More than 100,000 mourners, including representatives from all of Russia's North Caucasus republics, turned out to pay last respects to Chirkeisky at a funeral in his hometown of Chirkei within hours of the assassination.

Daghestan's Muslims are divided between adherents of mainstream Sunni Islam, a local form of Sufism, and Salafi, or Wahhabi Islam, which is professed by many militants.

Officials say the murder was connected to Chirkeisky's religious activities.


Based on reporting by Interfax and AFP