Hero of Russia stars were posthumously awarded to two officers killed while engaged in counter-terrorism operations in the north Caucasus. One of them, a major in the Federal Security Service of Russia, was responsible for eliminating a former president of Ichkeria, the terrorist leader Abdul-Khalim Saidullaev, at the cost of his own life. Serving as task leader during counter-terrorist operations on 17 June 2006 in Chechnya, the major was the first to enter the building where the terrorists were hiding. They opened fire, but the major, despite being injured, continued to fight and was able to destroy the their leader.