Chechen Rebel Leader Killed, Russia Says
By SERGEI VENYAVSKY
Associated Press Writer
ROSTOV-ON-DON, Russia ? Chechen rebel leader Aslan Maskhadov, blamed by Russia for last year's school hostage crisis and other deadly terrorist acts, has been killed during a raid, the head of the Federal Security Service told President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday. One report said he was killed accidentally by his bodyguards.
The shirtless body of Maskhadov, 53, was shown on Russia's NTV channel.
Chechen rebel leader Aslan Maskhadov seen in the village of Tsotsi-Yurt, 29 km (18 miles) southeast of Grozny in this Saturday, Jan. 25, 1997, file photo. Spokesman for Russian forces in Chechnya Col. Ilya Shabalkin said Tuesday that Maskhadov was killed during the course of a 'special operation' in Tolstoy-Yurt, a village in the northern sector of Chechnya, but he did not give immediate details.(AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, File)
The Interfax news agency quoted Maj. Gen. Ilya Shabalkin, a spokesman for Russian forces in the region, as saying Maskhadov had been killed in Tolstoy-Yurt, a village in northern Chechnya that generally has been under the tight control of the Kremlin.
Interfax, citing Chechnya's Kremlin-backed deputy prime minister, Ramzan Kadyrov, also reported that Russian forces intended to take Maskhadov alive, but he was killed by careless weapons-handling by his bodyguards. Three of Maskhadov's aides were detained, Interfax reported.
NTV showed Federal Security Service head Nikolai Patrushev telling Putin that Maskhadov had been killed in a "special operation" in Tolstoy-Yurt. Putin hailed the success and added: "We must augment the effort aimed at the defense of the citizens of the republic."
Details were not immediately available, but news agencies earlier quoted Shabalkin as saying Maskhadov's body was found in a bunker. NTV broadcast what it said was a security service video showing troops in camouflage and black masks sifting through guns and unfolding a green, red and white Chechen flag.
Earlier Tuesday, Russian officials reported detaining three rebels who were planning a large terrorist attack on the administration building in Tolstoy-Yurt.
Maskhadov led the Chechen separatists who fought Russian forces to a standstill in a 1994-96 war and he became the republic's president after the Russian military withdrew.
But he appeared to lose substantial influence to Chechen warlord Shamil Basayev, and by the time Russian forces returned to Chechnya in 1999, he was believed to command loyalty among only a relatively small faction of fighters.
Last year, Russia's Federal Security Service offered a reward of up to $10 million for information that could help "neutralize" Maskhadov and Basayev.
Maskhadov was regarded by some observers as comparatively moderate, in contrast to Basayev, an adherent of the strict Wahhabi sect of Islam who has claimed responsibility for some of Russia's most horrifying terrorist attacks, including last year's seizure of a school in Beslan that ended with the deaths of more than 330 people, about half of them children.
Russian officials consistently have alleged Maskhadov was connected to attacks such as the Beslan school siege and the 2002 seizure of 800 hostages at a Moscow theater. Maskhadov denied involvement in those attacks.
A temporary cease-fire called by Maskhadov expired late last month on the 61st anniversary of the Stalin-era deportation of Chechens to the barren steppes of then-Soviet Central Asia.
Maskhadov had ordered his fighters, including Basayev, to observe a cease-fire through Feb. 22, the eve of the anniversary. He also renewed a call for talks with the Russian leadership, which has consistently turned them down.
Russian officials had dismissed the cease-fire call as a publicity stunt and maintained that rebels kept up their attacks.
The Kremlin sent troops into Chechnya in 1994 in a bid to crush its separatist leadership, but they withdrew after a devastating 20-month war that left the southern Russian region de facto independent.
Russian forces returned in 1999 following a rebel incursion into a neighboring province and deadly apartment building explosions blamed on rebels
................................................................
Russia don't play.
By SERGEI VENYAVSKY
Associated Press Writer
ROSTOV-ON-DON, Russia ? Chechen rebel leader Aslan Maskhadov, blamed by Russia for last year's school hostage crisis and other deadly terrorist acts, has been killed during a raid, the head of the Federal Security Service told President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday. One report said he was killed accidentally by his bodyguards.
The shirtless body of Maskhadov, 53, was shown on Russia's NTV channel.
Chechen rebel leader Aslan Maskhadov seen in the village of Tsotsi-Yurt, 29 km (18 miles) southeast of Grozny in this Saturday, Jan. 25, 1997, file photo. Spokesman for Russian forces in Chechnya Col. Ilya Shabalkin said Tuesday that Maskhadov was killed during the course of a 'special operation' in Tolstoy-Yurt, a village in the northern sector of Chechnya, but he did not give immediate details.(AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, File)
The Interfax news agency quoted Maj. Gen. Ilya Shabalkin, a spokesman for Russian forces in the region, as saying Maskhadov had been killed in Tolstoy-Yurt, a village in northern Chechnya that generally has been under the tight control of the Kremlin.
Interfax, citing Chechnya's Kremlin-backed deputy prime minister, Ramzan Kadyrov, also reported that Russian forces intended to take Maskhadov alive, but he was killed by careless weapons-handling by his bodyguards. Three of Maskhadov's aides were detained, Interfax reported.
NTV showed Federal Security Service head Nikolai Patrushev telling Putin that Maskhadov had been killed in a "special operation" in Tolstoy-Yurt. Putin hailed the success and added: "We must augment the effort aimed at the defense of the citizens of the republic."
Details were not immediately available, but news agencies earlier quoted Shabalkin as saying Maskhadov's body was found in a bunker. NTV broadcast what it said was a security service video showing troops in camouflage and black masks sifting through guns and unfolding a green, red and white Chechen flag.
Earlier Tuesday, Russian officials reported detaining three rebels who were planning a large terrorist attack on the administration building in Tolstoy-Yurt.
Maskhadov led the Chechen separatists who fought Russian forces to a standstill in a 1994-96 war and he became the republic's president after the Russian military withdrew.
But he appeared to lose substantial influence to Chechen warlord Shamil Basayev, and by the time Russian forces returned to Chechnya in 1999, he was believed to command loyalty among only a relatively small faction of fighters.
Last year, Russia's Federal Security Service offered a reward of up to $10 million for information that could help "neutralize" Maskhadov and Basayev.
Maskhadov was regarded by some observers as comparatively moderate, in contrast to Basayev, an adherent of the strict Wahhabi sect of Islam who has claimed responsibility for some of Russia's most horrifying terrorist attacks, including last year's seizure of a school in Beslan that ended with the deaths of more than 330 people, about half of them children.
Russian officials consistently have alleged Maskhadov was connected to attacks such as the Beslan school siege and the 2002 seizure of 800 hostages at a Moscow theater. Maskhadov denied involvement in those attacks.
A temporary cease-fire called by Maskhadov expired late last month on the 61st anniversary of the Stalin-era deportation of Chechens to the barren steppes of then-Soviet Central Asia.
Maskhadov had ordered his fighters, including Basayev, to observe a cease-fire through Feb. 22, the eve of the anniversary. He also renewed a call for talks with the Russian leadership, which has consistently turned them down.
Russian officials had dismissed the cease-fire call as a publicity stunt and maintained that rebels kept up their attacks.
The Kremlin sent troops into Chechnya in 1994 in a bid to crush its separatist leadership, but they withdrew after a devastating 20-month war that left the southern Russian region de facto independent.
Russian forces returned in 1999 following a rebel incursion into a neighboring province and deadly apartment building explosions blamed on rebels
................................................................
Russia don't play.
