[7] On 1 November one of the escapees, Xhavit Morina, former commander of Albanian National Army (ANA), was killed by unknown perpetrators near Tetovo.

The group was headed by Ramadan Shiti and Lirim Jakupi (known as "The Nazi"), Wahhabi extremists and paramilitary[6] men who escaped from the Dubrava prison in Kosovo in August.

[9] Some in the group, such as Shiti, had previously been linked with a Saudi-backed Wahhabi Muslim sect's attempts to take control over the Islamic communities in Macedonia and Kosovo.

[6] The operation was carried out by a multi-ethnic[6] special police force in the villages of Brodec, Vešala and Vejce, near Tetovo, beginning in the morning.

[14] An internal investigation by the Macedonian Ministry of Interior concluded that the use of firearms by the police was "appropriate, proportionate, justified and necessary", and that the detainees had been injured while resisting arrest.

[5] A Skopje court in July 2008 found the militants guilty and gave them prison terms between 10 and 15 years for terrorist association and possession of illegal weaponry.