RUSSIA More details emerge of militant attack

Russian authorities are trying to stamp out alleged Islamic extremist groups.
NALCHIK, Russia (AP) -- Zurida Shenkao was running errands Thursday morning when she crossed the street and saw gunmen in fatigues, flak jackets and ski masks shooting at the headquarters of a government security agency.
Terrified, she dashed into a nearby gift shop. Two wounded gunmen ran in after her.
And so began a 24-hour hostage ordeal, during which militants armed with grenades and other weapons forced her to bandage their wounds and used her cell phone to negotiate with Russian officials as gunbattles raged right outside.
The 24-year-old office worker was one of nearly 20 people militants held captive in various buildings during their assault on government and law enforcement offices in Nalchik, a regional capital in Russia's turbulent Caucasus.
Her account, given to The Associated Press by telephone Saturday from her hospital bed, was among the details emerging about the simultaneous attacks, in which at least 128 people were killed, including 92 militants.
At one point, the gunmen explained to Shenkao and four other women in the store the motivation for their bloody assault.
"We are fighting for our motherland. We must kill all those who wear police uniforms and serve the government," said one of the men, both in their 20s, Shenkao recalled. "The more of them we kill, all the more certain we will get to heaven."
Spillover from Chechnya
The region of Kabardino-Balkariya has long seen spillover violence from nearby Chechnya, and earlier this year police in Nalchik twice launched assaults on alleged Islamic militants holed up in apartments.
But Thursday marked the region's most brazen raids, with about 100 young men launching a bold daylight attack apparently aimed at seizing weapons and ammunition -- similar to coordinated assaults last year in another Caucasus city, Nazran.
Chechen rebels claimed involvement in the attacks that terrified the city of 235,000. But local officials said at least two-thirds of the more than 100 militants in the attacks were from the mostly Muslim region, named for its two main ethnic groups.
Shenkao said one of the wounded militants in the store was Kabardin and another was Balkar. A third, who arrived later, was from the nearby republic of Ingushetia.
The attack came amid a Russian law enforcement campaign to stamp out nascent, alleged Islamic extremist groups, such as the Yarmuk group blamed for Thursday's assault. Human rights lawyers and Muslim leaders claim the campaign has insulted innocent, observant Muslims with unnecessary detentions and demeaning behavior. Authorities have shut down all of Nalchik's mosques except one.
Aftermath
Heavily armed soldiers and police troops patrolled the city streets Saturday, looking for any fighters hiding among the civilian population. Tanks and armored personnel carriers stood at several main crossroads. Soldiers peered into the windows of cars entering and leaving the city.
Most of Nalchik's stores and restaurants had reopened Saturday. There were far more people outside than on Friday, though the central market remained closed. Authorities claimed that all pockets of active fighting had been eliminated by Friday afternoon.
Still, many people now fear a bigger Russian clampdown. Ruslan Nakhushev, director at the regional center for Islamic studies, warned that authorities would widen their dragnet to pick up even more innocent Muslims.