Chechnya

[NYC]

Al-Qa'idah running "criminal business" in Chechnya

Al-Qa'idah representatives active on the territory of Chechnya and organizing acts of terrorism in neighbouring regions have set up a form of criminal business, receiving millions of dollars from sponsors abroad in foreign banks, Federal Security Service [FSB] public relations centre head Sergey Ignatenko said today.
Ignatenko said the bulk of funds and orders to plan acts of terrorism come from abroad and al-Qa'idah leaders active in Chechnya recruit people to carry these out for relatively small sums. "The evidence we have suggests that a maximum of 2,000 dollars is given to the family of dead terrorists in payment for carrying out acts of terrorism," he said.
"It is a different matter that those issuing the orders and the leaders receive considerable sums, which never enter Chechnya but remain in foreign bank accounts, which each terrorist leader has," the FSB spokesman said. He pointed out that after the elimination of Khattab in 2002 the Saudi press wrote a great deal about his estate amounting to 40m dollars and his family were in litigation for a long time over this inheritance. "Our intelligence says similar sums went into accounts held by Abu Walid and Abu Khavs (who succeeded Khattab)," he said.
According to the special services, representatives of foreign extremist organizations began to appear on the territory of the former USSR in the 1990s. "It was at that time that we first began to observe the activity of extremist organizations like the Muslim Brotherhood and a number of others which are now brought together in al-Qa'idah. That was when a diffuse underground network appeared and in 1996-99 representatives of radical Muslim organizations set up a zone inside Chechnya where saboteurs and terrorists were trained and 16 camps to train experts in mines and explosives and snipers, as well as propaganda specialists.
"We are now up against a serious enemy, since the terrorists operate covertly and have a fairly diffuse network which has been established for a decade with well-organized funding from abroad, which is forcing us to restructure our work." Therefore "in our view, operations which we carry out must produce good results", Ignatenko said.
He named Abu Khavs, Abu Umar, Abu Barri - known as "the white Arab", Abdulla, Abu Zeys and Dzhabara, who is Abu Khavs's deputy, as active foreign terrorist leaders. Many foreign terrorists, not all from Middle East countries, have been killed in counter-terrorist operations but it is difficult to give a precise figure because "as a rule, most of the foreigners are not using documents so it is hard to identify them". He cited the example of foreigners killed taking part in the Beslan school siege whose country of origin has still not been identified.
According to the special services, it is foreign terrorists, mainly Arabs, who are protecting [Shamil] Basayev. Their intelligence says that "Basayev was abroad for a fairly long time but recently has been turning up in Chechnya from time to time and going abroad frequently".

Source: ITAR-TASS news agency, Moscow
BBC Monitoring

http://www.gateway2russia.com/st/art_265005.php

[NYC]

CHECHEN PRESIDENTIAL ENVOY, RUSSIAN 'SOLDIERS' MOTHERS' OUTLINE STEPS
TO END WAR... A delegation from the Russian Union of Committees of
Soldiers' Mothers met in London on 24-25 February with Chechen
President Aslan Maskhadov's envoy Akhmed Zakaev, Reuters and Russian
agencies reported. Council of Europe representatives also attended
the talks. The meeting was originally planned for November 2003 in
Brussels, but the Belgian authorities declined at the last minute to
issue visas to the Russian delegation. The participants at the London
talks signed a five-point memorandum, posted on the Chechen website
chechenpress.com on 26 February, on ending the conflict in Chechnya.
It advocates an immediate and unconditional cease-fire and
participation of the Chechen resistance forces in the international
fight against terrorism; the withdrawal of Russian forces from
Chechnya, disarmament of all volunteer armed groups, and total
demilitarization; the formation of a provisional coalition government
under international control, in line with the Russian-Chechen treaty
signed in May 1997; the holding of direct democratic elections under
international supervision; and a program of economic reconstruction,
for which the European Union would seek funding. LF

...BUT PRO-MOSCOW CHECHEN OFFICIALS REMAIN SKEPTICAL. Chechen
Security Council Secretary Rudnik Dudaev told Interfax on 25 February
that the meeting between Zakaev and the Russian delegation "is
pointless" because Zakaev "does not have the authority to impose his
terms." Chechen State Council Chairman Taus Dzhabrailov similarly
told Interfax on 25 February that he considers the London meeting
simply a public-relations exercise on Maskhadov's behalf. Dzhabrailov
too claimed that neither Maskhadov nor Zakaev exercise any control
over events in Chechnya, but that it is radical field commander
Shamil Basaev who issues commands to the resistance. LF

[NYC]

RESISTANCE FIGHTERS REPORTEDLY SURROUNDED IN EASTERN CHECHNYA.
Chechen Interior Ministry forces launched a major operation on 24
February, surrounding a group of between 70-90 Chechen resistance
fighters in the Nozhai-Yurt district of eastern Chechnya and killing
at least 10 of them, Chechen Interior Minister Ruslan Alkhanov told
Interfax on 25 February. Alkhanov added that similar operations were
under way in the Vedeno, Itum-Kale, and Kurchaloi districts. On 26
February, Alkhanov said Russian federal troops have joined in the
operation, and that police in Daghestan have blocked the border with
Chechnya to prevent the militants entering Daghestan. Alkhanov also
said he has "irrefutable information" that the militants include
Daghestan-born field commander Rappani Khalilov and Maskhadov's
security chief, Akhmed Avdorkhanov. LF

[NYC]

Chechen leader Maskhadov 'killed'
Russian forces say they have killed Chechen rebel leader Aslan Maskhadov.
There is no independent confirmation of the death, which reportedly came during a Russian special forces operation inside the breakaway Russian republic.

Mr Maskhadov was elected Chechen president in January 1997 but was ousted two years later when Russia sent troops to quell an independence drive.

There are no reliable figures on how many people have been killed in Chechnya's 10-year war of independence.


"I confirm that Maskhadov was killed in the village of Tolstoi-Yurt," Gen Ilya Shabalkin, spokesman for the Russian troop headquarters in the region, was quoted by several Russian news agencies as saying on Tuesday.

Mr Maskhadov was hiding in a bunker under a building in the village, Gen Shabalkin said.

Russian television has shown pictures of what it said was Maskhadov's body.

There has been no statement from the Chechens.

Moscow has blamed Mr Maskhadov for a string of deadly attacks in Russia, including a rebel attack on a school in the south Russian town of Beslan last September in which more than 330 hostages - half of them children - died.

He led the Chechen separatists who successfully fought Russian forces in a 1994-1996 war.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4330039.stm

[Petronas]

Chechen leader Maskhadov 'killed'
Tuesday, 8 March, 2005, 18:06 GMT

Russian forces say Chechen rebel leader Aslan Maskhadov has been killed. Russian television showed pictures of a body resembling that of Mr Maskhadov, 53, in a pool of blood in Chechnya. But President Vladimir Putin has asked for further identification. Chechens have not confirmed the death, which a spokesman said was likely to be true. The spokesman said Chechnya's war of independence would not be affected by the death of Mr Maskhadov - the most moderate of Chechen rebel commanders.

Mr Maskhadov was elected Chechen president in January 1997 but was ousted two years later. Thousands of people - many of them civilians - have been killed in the 10-year war between Russian forces and Chechen separatists.

Few details have been released of the Russian operation at the settlement of Tolstoy-Yurt, near the Chechen capital, Grozny. Col Ilya Shabalkin, a spokesman for Russian forces in the Caucasus region, earlier told news agencies that Mr Maskhadov's body had been found in a bunker. But it was not clear whether he had been killed by the Russian forces. Chechnya's Moscow-appointed Deputy Prime Minister Ramzan Kadyrov told Interfax news agency the intention had been to take Mr Maskhadov alive but that he had been was killed by careless weapons-handling by his bodyguards.

Russia's FSB security chief briefed President Putin on the troops' operation in a Chechen village, but did not say how Mr Maskhadov was killed. He told the president the FSB security services "today carried out an operation in the settlement of Tolstoy-Yurt, as a result of which "the international terrorist and leader of armed groups Maskhadov was killed, and his closest comrades-in-arms detained".

"Carry out additional identification tests, report back," Mr Putin ordered. "If this information is confirmed, grant state awards to all those involved in the operation," the Russian leader said. "We have to gather our forces to protect the people of the republic and citizens of all Russia from the bandits," Mr Putin said. Russian television showed pictures of a grey-bearded and shirtless corpse in a pool of blood, but a Chechen spokesman said he was not convinced.

However, one of Mr Maskhadov's oldest allies, Akhmed Zakayev, told Ekho Moskvy radio from London that the Russian announcement was likely to be true. But this would not affect Chechnya's pursuit of independence, he said. "The resistance will continue, no doubt about it," Mr Zakayev said.

If the death is confirmed, this will be a major coup for Moscow, the BBC's Sarah Rainsford in Moscow says. Moscow has blamed Mr Maskhadov for a string of deadly attacks in Russia, including a rebel attack on a school in the south Russian town of Beslan last September in which more than 330 hostages - half of them children - died. He led the Chechen separatists who defeated Russian forces in a 1994-1996 war. Mr Putin sent Russian troops back into Chechnya in October 1999.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4330039.stm

[Casey]

March 9, 2005 12:45 AM

Chechen rebels vow to fight on

By Sonia Oxley

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Chechen guerrilla leader Aslan Maskhadov has been killed by Russian security forces, giving a boost to President
Vladimir Putin, but supporters have vowed their fight for Chechnya's independence will go on.

"It is a very big loss but it is not a death blow to us, as Putin thinks," said Maskhadov's London-based envoy Akhmed Zakayev, adding that a
successor would be named within days.

Maskhadov, 53, one of Russia's two most wanted men, was killed on Tuesday in an operation by the FSB security service in a village north
of the Chechen region's capital Grozny, officials said.

Russian television showed the grey-haired Maskhadov lying, bare-chested, on his back in a pool of blood with his arms spread out. He
appeared to have a bullet mark on his left cheek.

The Kremlin, which had accused Maskhadov of masterminding a series of deadly attacks on civilian targets, including last year's Beslan
school siege, hailed his death as a coup.

But some political analysts, who saw him as a moderate leader with whom the Kremlin could negotiate, said his death was a blow to any
chance of peace in the region.

Zakayev, Maskhadov's main envoy in the West, signalled the killing could trigger revenge attacks.

"MORE DANGEROUS IN DEATH"

"Aslan Maskhadov will be much more dangerous for the Kremlin leadership in death than he could have been even in life, when he was
calling for peaceful dialogue," said Zakayev.

Maskhadov had repeatedly invited Moscow to hold talks with him but the Russian leadership refused, saying it did not negotiate with
terrorists.

Human rights groups which had called on the Kremlin to talk to Maskhadov voiced disappointment at his death.

"For me the news of the killing of Maskhadov is not very good news. This was a person with whom it would have been possible to start
talks," rights activist Lyudmila Alexeyeva told Interfax news agency.

Maskhadov was elected president of Chechnya during a three-year period in the late 1990s when the region enjoyed de facto
independence.

He distanced himself from many attacks Moscow accused him of engineering, instead blaming warlord Shamil Basayev for raids such as
Beslan, in which at least 330 people were killed, and a 2002 Moscow theatre hostage-taking that resulted in 170 deaths.

Basayev claimed responsibility for those attacks.

The Kremlin linked Maskhadov and Basayev to al Qaeda and other groups that conducted attacks elsewhere in the world such as the
September 11 raids on the United States in 2001.

Russia, fearing a breakaway by Chechnya could trigger secession drives by other regions in the sprawling federation, has fought two wars
against Chechen separatists.

Tens of thousands were killed on both sides in the first conflict from 1994-96, when Maskhadov was commander-in-chief of rebel forces.


Reuters

http://www.swissinfo.org/sen/Swissinfo.html?siteSect=143&sid=5588104

More information in the Warnings thread >>> Chechnya
http://www.wincoast.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1288

[uchiuke123]

New President of Chechnya Sheikh Abdul-Halim: Who Is He?


After it was announced that new Chechen leader, Sheikh Abdul-Halim has headed the Chechen State, in accordance to the Constitution of Chechen Republic of Ichkeria (CRI), in compliance with the Edict issued by CRI President, and in accordance with the Resolution of CRI State Defence Council, Russian propaganda hurried to announce that a Saudi Arab has allegedly become the head Ichkeria. Even some name with the prefix “al” was made up, so that this fact would not cause any doubts in anybody.



As one might expect, after alleged Saudi background of Sheikh Abdul-Halim was “established”, a whole bunch of commonplace accusations came up, which were prepared in the desks of KGB headquarters for any scenario that could ever arise.



According to the version of the Kremlin’s scribblers and the office of Shabalkin (Russian spokesman for the war in the Caucasus), Sheikh Abdul-Halim is not just a “Wahabist” (Russian version of an Islamic extremist), but he is “the Wahabist Number One”. Besides, he turned out to be the “chief extremist” (Basayev is now resting) and the “inspirer of all terrorist acts on the territory of Chechnya and Russia”. Turns out that no one but Abdul-Halim was the one who masterminded the kidnapping of Kenneth Gluck. And most likely, he is the one who in the coming reports by the FSB (Russian Federal Security Service, former KGB) and ROHCO (Regional Operative Headquarters in charge of Counterterrorist Operation) will become the main representative of Ben Laden and Al-Qaeda in the North Caucasus.



But who really is Sheikh Abdul-Halim?



Everything is a lot simpler and a lot more prosaic.



Sheikh Abdul-Halim: Abdul-Halim Abu-Salamovich Sadulayev, a Chechen, b.1967. Born and raised in the city of Argun (12 km away from Chechen capital Jokhar). Belongs to Chechen clan of Ustradoi (Ustargardoi is considered as an independent branch of the Belgatoi Clan). Ancestors of Ustradoi Clan are considered to be founders of the city of Argun (Ustradoila, Ustargardoi-Evla).



He was taught by prominent Chechen theologians. Active participant of Islamic revival in Chechnya. He became a teacher by teaching Islam to the youth. Abdul-Halim was studying at the Chechen University, Department of Philology, but he had no time to graduate because the war started. He speaks Chechen, Arabic and Russian fluently.



President Abdul-Halim is a veteran of the first Russian-Chechen war. During the period between the first war and the second war he was delivering Islamic sermons on Chechen TV. He was also heading Islamic Jamaat (Military Council) of the city of Argun. Sheikh Abdul-Halim was also delivering Islamic lectures in various regions of Chechnya. For some time he used to be an imam of the Argun Mosque.



In 1999 on the order of President Maskhadov he was appointed as a member of State Commission of Constitutional Shariah Reform.



When the second Russian-Chechen war started he headed armed units of Argun People’s Militia, which joined CRI Armed Forces.



In 2002 during the broad session of State Defence Council of CRI (the supreme governing body of CRI during the period of war) Abdul-Halim was appointed as Chairman of the Shariah Committee of SDC and the Head of the Shariah Court of CRI.



Since the moment of death of President of CRI Aslan Maskhadov, Abdul-Halim became the legitimate leader of the Chechen State – President of Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, Commander of CRI State Defence Council and Commander-In-Chief of CRI Armed Forces -- in accordance with his position that he held.



And here are some more clarifications. During the broad session of SDC of CRI in July-August 2002 (which lasted 24 days), with the participation of members of SDC, the Parliament, the Government, heads of Administrations and Military Command of CRI Armed Forces, a number of important and crucial decisions were adopted.



-Several amendments and additions were made to the acting Constitution of CRI, while considering the proposals prepared as far back as 1999 by the State Commission of Shariah Reform. (By the way, Ahmad Kadyrov was one of the heads of that commission back then);



-Decision was adopted about the mechanism of legitimate succession of power in accordance with the CRI Constitution in case of death of the head of the Chechen State or in case the head of the state gets captured by the enemy.



-“Bayat” had been taken: the Islamic Oath of loyalty of military and political leaders of all levels (Commanding Officers, Commanders, Ministers, etc.) to the head of the state for as long as the head of the state complies with the Shariah Law and upholds it.



On the order of President Maskhadov, Sheikh Abdul-Halim was decorated with two medals of the Chechen State: the supreme decoration founded by First Chechen President Jokhar Dudayev, Koman Sii (“Honour of the Nation”) and Medal of Valour “Koman Turpal” (“Hero of the Nation”).



In 2003 the invader’s Spetznaz (Russian special forces) took the wife of Sheikh Abdul-Halim hostage. She was brutally murdered by Russian FSB agents after sadistic tortures when they were trying to find out where her husband was.



According to the information that Kavkaz Center has, Sheikh Abdul-Halim has never left the Chechen soil except for one trip to Mecca on Hajj.



Department of Strategic Information,

Kavkaz Center

2005-03-12 16:31:52

[Petronas]

About 40 collaborators killed during combats in Nozhai-Yurt
2005-03-16 00:30:20

Spokesman of the Military Council (part of CRI State Defense Council) reported that about 40 Kadyrov’s collaborators were killed during several combats that took place in Nozhai-Yurt District of the country starting February 23 through February 27. 23 collaborators were buried in just one village of Benoi alone, who were natives of that village. Two Chechen Fighters became Shaheeds (Martyrs). The overall number of 70 Chechen troops took part in the combat operations.

Meanwhile, spokesman of the Military Council reported to Kavkaz Center that 8 invaders were killed and 10 wounded during sabotage operations carried out in Vedeno District of Chechnya. The source explained that several blasts of enemy military vehicles were carried out last Saturday. Sabotage units of Chechen Armed Forces attacked the invaders in the vicinity of the villages of Eshelkhatoi, Shamil-Khutor and Belgatoi. No details of the operations have been reported.

At the same time, the command of the Russian invaders reported that 15 invaders were wounded in an attack on the invaders’ commandant’s office in Chechen capital Jokhar (former Grozny). Although, a few hours after the fact of the attack was admitted, the invaders’ command decided to change their version of the incident and stated that an accident had happened: a shell from a grenade-launcher allegedly went off. The invaders’ sources failed to clarify why they would need to keep an AGS automatic grenade-launcher on the premises with live cartridges in it, from which the accidental shot was allegedly fired.

http://kavkazcenter.com/eng/article.php?id=3614

[NYC]

OWNER OF HOUSE IN WHICH CHECHEN LEADER WAS KILLED FOUND DEAD. The
owner of the house in Tolstoi-Yurt where Russian federal troops
surrounded and killed Chechen President and resistance leader Aslan
Maskhadov on 8 March has been found dead, Russian media reported on
24 March (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 9 March 2005). His body reportedly
bore signs of torture. Also on 24 March, a Grozny city council
official told Interfax that it would be "unethical" to provide funds
to rebuild the house, which was destroyed several days after
Maskhadov's death. LF

[NYC]

CHECHEN CLERIC CALLS FOR BAN ON WAHHABISM. Addressing a 4 April
conference in Grozny on religious extremism, pro-Moscow Chechen
leader Alu Alkhanov criticized Chechnya's Muslim clergy for their
collective failure to prevent the spread of religious extremism,
Interfax reported. At the same conference, Chechnya's chief mufti
Akhmad-hadji Shamaev proposed designating Wahhabism "an extremist
ideology" and declaring it illegal on Chechen territory. Other,
unnamed participants called on Alkhanov to issue an ordinance banning
religious and political extremism which the Chechen parliament to be
elected later this year would endorse as law. Taus Dzhabrailov, who
is chairman of the interim Chechen legislature, advocated the
creation of a federal center to combat Wahhabism, according to
riadagestan.ru, as cited by kavkazweb.net on 4 April. LF

[Petronas]

Russia seizes Chechnya explosives
Thursday, 5 May, 2005, 11:46 GMT 12:46 UK

Russian security forces working in Chechnya have seized a truck loaded with explosives. They say the vehicle was destined for use in a major terrorist attack. The Kamaz truck was seized on Thursday morning, close to the Chechen capital, Grozny, a Russian military spokesman has confirmed.

The announcement comes as much of Russia is on high alert for possible security threats ahead of next week's celebration of the end of World War II. More than 50 heads of state and other dignitaries are expected to attend. Last year, a bomb exploded killing the pro-Moscow president of Chechnya, Akhmad Kadyrov, as he attended a Victory Day parade in Grozny.

Security forces had stopped the vehicle, suspecting it was fitted with false license plates. On board, they discovered more than a tonne of explosives. The military spokesman told the BBC the truck was primed for detonation by remote control. He suggested only Chechnya's chief warlords could possibly be linked to planning such a serious attack, though he admitted as yet there was no hard evidence. The truck driver and a passenger are now being questioned.

Earlier in the day, Russian security forces also claimed to have averted a series of planned terror attacks, using a cyanide-based substance. They say the targets were major cities in the North Caucasus.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4516939.stm

One ton of explosives - that is several times the amount used in the Bali attack. It would have been a blood bath.

It is interesting, also, that Al Qaeda's love affair with cyanide seems to endure. They have not yet employed it successfully, though they have tried numerous times ever since the first WTC attack. They are persistent - watch out for an attack involving cyanide in the future.

[Petronas]

Russian troops kill 40 rebels during VE-Day holiday
Friday, May 13, 2005

MOSCOW: Russian troops killed up to 40 Chechen rebels in counter-terrorist operations in the Caucasus while Moscow hosted world leaders for celebrations marking victory in World War Two, an army spokesman said on Thursday. Fearing a repeat of Chechen attacks aimed at past May 9 Victory Day parades, authorities introduced tough security measures across Russia before the arrival of more than 50 heads of state, including US President George W Bush. But army spokesman General Ilya Shabalkin denied any link between the Moscow events and the Chechnya security operation, which ran from May 5 to May 10. “The special operation was not linked to Victory Day festivities.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_13-5-2005_pg4_12

[Petronas]

9 invaders killed in Chechnya's Nojay-Yurt district
Sat, 05 14 2005, 07:33 Djokhar Time

Spokesman of the Military Council (part of State Defense Council of Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, CRI) reported that during the clashes in Nojay-Yurt district of CRI, which happened on 10 May, Mujahideen killed 9 invaders and wounded 15. During local clashes one Chechen fighter became Shaheed. This the third fighter who became as a result of fighting in Nojay-Yurt district of CRI since 9 May. As a source in Chechen command reported, intensive firefights and combats have occurred in 2-3 kilometers from settlement Gansolchu. The Russian side actively uses aircraft and heavy artillery.

http://kavkazcenter.com/eng/content/2005/05/12/3787.shtml

[Petronas]

Chechen Commander Tells RFE/RL of New Threat "To Take The War To Enemy Territory"
Prague, Czech Republic
May 10, 2005

A leading Chechen military commander has contacted RFE/RL's North Caucasus Service, to say that Chechen separatists are changing tactics and plan in his words "to take the war to enemy territory." The commander, Doku Umarov, telephoned RFE/RL North Caucasus Service director Aslan Doukaev on Saturday, May 7.

Umarov, who claimed that he is a regular listener to RFE/RL Chechen-language broadcasts, said that Chechen fighters had until now kept most of their operations inside Chechnya. But now, Umarov said, units are regrouping and redeploying for attacks in what he called "enemy territory." "We have begun to determine targets," Umarov said.

The Chechen separatists are decided on this course, according to Umarov, because "the killing and abductions of civilians is on a massive scale, even flagrant." Umarov said his own 70-year old father, as well as his brother, wife and 7-month old baby were all abducted last week and are now being held captive. Umarov named the kidnappers as pro-Moscow Chechens tied to Ramzan Kadyrov, the son of assassinated Moscow-installed Chechen President Akhmad Kadyrov.

Umarov was minister for security in the government of self-styled Chechen president Aslan Mashkadov, who opposed a terrorist war against Russia. Mashkadov was killed by Russian troops in early March. Chechen fighters continued to respect Maskhadov's wishes, but have now thrown off restraints in outrage over the kidnappings, Umarov said. Umarov identifies himself as commander of the southwest front in Chechnya, but said that he receives reports from Chechen fighting units located in all parts of the republic.

http://www.rferl.org/releases/2005/05/331-100505.asp

[1001]

Basayev: 'we strike across the Central Russia'


As many Russian experts assumed, the reason of so-called “technogenic catastrophe” in Moscow and in the Moscow district, were actions of the Chechen Mujahideen. It is said in the message which Kavkaz Center received today.

Kavkaz Center agency has received via e-mail a brief statement of Military Amir Abdallah Shamil Abu-Idris (AKA Shamil Basayev) that on 24-25 May, sabotage groups of Mujahideen have conducted a successful special operation in territory of Moscow and the Moscow district, having put out of action a power supply system of the Central region of Russia.

«Our sabotage groups have delivered a sensitive blow on one of the most important systems of ability to live of the Russian empire. The result of the special operation has surpassed our expectations. At the present, we’re gaining information on consequences of our strike across the Central Russia. While I can tell only one – the Russian authorities impudently lie, hiding the true reason of “technogenic catastrophe” try to hide very serious consequences of the special action conducted by us.

While I shall be limited to this brief statement, by not opening the important details of special operation as the serious analytical estimation is at present carrying out, both our actions and actions of the enemy.

Let's remind that this statement has been received by Kavkaz Center via email on May 27, in second half of day.

Kavkaz Center

2005-05-27 16:04:33

http://www.kavkazcenter.com/eng/content/2005/05/27/3828.shtml



Chechen Rebel Claims Moscow Blackout


http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,157905,00.html

[Casey]

Militants Detained on Chechen-Dagestani
Border Planned New Terrorist Acts
GROZNY (RIA Novosti) -- Five militants from the gang of Akhmed Avdorkhanov who were detained on the Chechen-Dagestani border as a result of a special operation on Tuesday are professional demolitionists, the Chechen Interior Ministry said. Avdorkhanov is a former bodyguard of Chechen terrorist leader Aslan Maskhadov killed on March 8.

"Ten homemade explosive devices were seized from militants. They had Avdorkhanov's instructions to perpetrate a series of terrorist acts in Chechnya and Dagestan," Chechen Interior Minister Ruslan Alkhanov told RIA Novosti.

Akhmed Avdorkhanov's gang is involved in grave crimes, terrorist and sabotage acts against authorities and federal power structures, the ministry said. The ministry did not give the names of the detainees.

There were no victims during the operation, the ministry added.

According to Ruslan Alkhanov, the detainees are residents of the village of Nizhny Gerzel located near the Chechen-Dagestani border. Mines, grenades, ammunition and electric detonators were also seized from the militants, he said.

The detainees already perpetrated a series of terrorist acts in Chechnya, Alkhanov stressed.

"The search for their accomplices is currently underway," he added.

http://nyjtimes.com/cover/06-06-05/MilitantsCapturedOnBorderPlannedAttacks.htm

[Petronas]

Chechen ambush kills seven police
Friday, 10 June, 2005, 09:37 GMT 10:37 UK

Seven Russian police officers have been killed in an ambush in Chechnya.
The Russian interior ministry said the attack happened near Kurchaloi, south-east of the capital, Grozny. The men's vehicle came under fire from a grenade launcher. The driver survived and is being treated for shrapnel wounds. Raids by Chechen separatist rebels remain frequent in the North Caucasus republic, which has been devastated by a decade of war. The seven officers killed in the attack were all from the Tver region of central Russia. The local Chechen prosecutor's office told a Russian news agency it was the worst attack in recent months.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4080066.stm

[Petronas]

Spiritual leader of Chechnya's Arab fighters killed: Internet
Published: 12/10/2005

PARIS - A Saudi man who is the purported spiritual leader of Arab fighters in Russia's rebel republic of Chechnya has been killed in fighting, an Internet statement said Saturday. "Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdullah bin Saif al-Jaber al-Buaynayn al-Tamimi, also known as Abu Omar al-Saif, the spiritual guide of the mujahedeen (holy fighters) in Chechnya, was martyred during a fight with the Russians, the enemies of God," said the statement, whose authenticity could not be independently verified. Other Islamists' sites reported the death of Saif's wife in the same fight. Meanwhile, another statement posted Saturday on the Internet said that Jaber al-Taifi, deputy of the mujahedeen's emir, the Jordanian Abu Hafs al-Ourdoni, was also killed.

Sheikh Omar, described as the "judicial chief in the Shura (consultative) council" of the mujahedeen, left Saudi Arabia 10 years ago to fight in Chechnya, it said. The native of Qassim province, north of Riyadh, had issued numerous fatwas (religious edicts) calling for jihad (holy war) and is the author of several video and audio messages including on the war in Iraq.

In April 2004, another Saudi Abdul Aziz al-Ghamdi, also known as Abu Walid, who was considered by Russian intelligence as the chief of Arab fighters, was killed in Chechnya. Ghamdi succeeded Arab warlord "Khattab," who was also Saudi-born, after he was killed two years ago.

Saudi Arabia's hardline Wahhabite brand of Islam has a strong following among Chechen rebels fighting Russian authority in the Caucasus republic since 1994.

http://www.turkishpress.com/news.asp?id=87510

[keith]

NEW ATTACKS FORCE KREMLIN TO LIFT INFORMATION BLOCKADE ON CHECHNYA

By Andrei Smirnov

Thursday, May 18, 2006



Official Russian media picks up reports of Chechen rebel activities Yesterday, May 17, Russia's official news agency, Interfax, reported that a convoy of Russian troops had been ambushed near the Chechen village of Nikikhat. Official casualty figures listed five dead and six wounded. The news resembled reports that regularly came from Chechnya during the first several years of the second military campaign in the republic, but such reports have been noticeably absent in recent years.

One major difference between the first (1994-96) and the second (1999-) Chechen wars was the coverage by the Russian and international media. During the First Chechen War, journalists had free access to the region, and the media published reports from both the Russian military command and the Chechen rebels. The Russian generals often would insist that the war was over, but each time independent media sources, including Russian ones, disproved such claims.

The Second Chechen War is characterized by the information blockade set up around the separatist republic. No free press was allowed into Chechnya, and the centrally controlled press department of the security services became almost the sole source of information concerning hostilities in the region. As time went by, official military reports became shorter and shorter; eventually they were replaced by optimistic statements from pro-Russian Chechen leaders asserting that the situation in Chechnya had normalized.

Nevertheless, the guerilla war in Chechnya continued, hidden from the outside world. For example, on February 8, 2006, Abdul-Khalim Sadulaev, the leader of the Chechen separatists, issued a decree that was posted on the Kavkaz Center website (Kavkaz Center, February 12). In the decree he ordered the rebel field commanders "to recruit volunteers and equip them with weapons and ammunition as required by the approved plan for the spring and summer military campaign." Following the decree, insurgent envoys surfaced in Chechen settlements to recruit new fighters. This process became so overt that Chechnya's pro-Russian leader, Ramzan Kadyrov, went on local television with a vow to kill rebel envoys who tried to compel young Chechens to join the guerillas (Vainakh TV, February 23). But rather than discouraging the rebels, attacks increased following Kadyrov's threat.

Chechen insurgents have staged attacks with increasing frequency since early March. First, insurgents clashed with Russian special forces in mountain districts such as Vedeno or Itum-Kale, then Grozny, the Chechen capital, was mentioned with increasing frequency in rebel reports, usually regarding night-time surgical strikes against checkpoints and army patrols in the city.

Throughout March Russian authorities remained silent regarding these attacks. But as the frequency of rebel attacks increased in April, they could no longer be ignored. The authorities found themselves in a difficult position; on the one hand, they had to continue their policy of trying to prove that the war in Chechnya is over, but, on the other hand, they realized that they should react somehow to the Russian army's rising casualties from rebel activities. Security officials had typically tried to explain their heavy casualties away by citing bad luck or traffic accidents.

When rebel websites reported ambushes and bombings of the Russian columns in the mountains, officials responded with other versions of events. On April 24, RIA-Novosti reported that in Itum-Kale district the driver of an APC had lost control of the vehicle and had fallen into a gorge, killing two officers died and injuring two others. Six days later, on April 30, Interfax reported that a truck had fallen into the Argun River in the mountainous Shatoy district. On May 3, the Russian military command reported another accident in the Vedeno district, saying that an infantry combat vehicle had exploded due to faulty engine wiring (Ekho Moskvy, May 3). On May 10, Interfax reported an APC had fallen into a gorge in Nozhai-Urt district near the village of Ersenoy.

There are no mountains or gorges in Grozny, so the authorities had to find other reasons why federal forces continue to die in the city. On May 1, Interfax reported that a stray bullet from a wedding celebration had injured a bystander, while another report the next day said that a Russian policeman had been wounded in Grozny by a "random bullet." On May 8, Interfax noted that an officer had been injured when an unidentified explosive device detonated during a sweep around the city's police headquarters.

According to the rebel sources, insurgent attacks reached a new peak during the first week of May, with 98 Russian servicemen killed or wounded during that time throughout Chechen territory (Daymokh, May 10). The attacks became bolder and more lethal and more raids occurred during daylight. Ultimately, the authorities realized that they could not hide such information from the public any longer. On May 12, RIA-Novosti reported that two soldiers had been killed and three injured when a military jeep was ambushed in Grozny, and the next day Radio Liberty reported another ambush in the Chechen capital, this time leaving one soldier dead and four wounded.

After such reports the generals in Chechnya openly voiced their concerns. "An analysis of the situation has shown that the bandit formations are preparing acts of sabotage this spring and summer," General Grigory Fomenko, the military commandant of the republic, said on May 13. He had to admit, "Bandit activity increased during the last week" (RIA-Novosti, May 13).

Despite immense efforts on the part of the Russian authorities to hide the war in Chechnya, the rebels are undaunted and are starting their spring and summer offensive. The increasing guerilla operations in the region are tearing down information barriers, even without the presence of independent media in the region.

[keith]

POLITICAL DISUNITY MARS CHECHEN REBEL STRATEGY IN THE NORTH CAUCASUS


By Andrei Smirnov


Early this year Chechen separatists began to discuss holding a major meeting among North Caucasian rebel commanders and underground Muslim religious leaders to transform the Caucasian insurgency into a unified political force.

In an interview posted on the Kavkazcenter website on January 9, Chechen warlord Shamil Basaev declared that this spring the rebels would organize a Great Majlis (Great Council) to unite "all Muslims of the North Caucasus" and to proclaim the imam of the North Caucasus as their supreme leader. On January 20, the president of the rebel Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, Abdul-Khalim Sadulaev, issued three decrees ordering the creation of a Council of Ulema (Council of Islamic religious scholars) and declaring that the commanders of rebel groups in the republics of the North Caucasus should be made members of the Military Council (Majlis-ul-Shura) of the Chechen rebel field commanders. According to the rebel plans, the members of the Council of Ulema and of the Military Council were to become deputies to the Great Majlis (see Chechnya Weekly, February 2).

The rebels returned to this subject in April. Movladi Udugov, the rebel spokesman, told the Caucasus Times there would be an All-Caucasian Majlis-ul-Shura "in the near future" or that it possibly had just concluded. This time, however, Udugov focused only on military issues that would be discussed at the meeting. He said that rebel activities would intensify in accordance with decisions made by the Shura (Caucasus Times, April 23).

Months later, nothing has been heard about the meeting. Leaders had billed the Great Majlis as a grand event that would rival the summer 2002 Great Chechen Majlis in Chechnya. At that meeting almost all Chechen field commanders, as well as some Chechen elders and members of the separatist parliament elected in 1997, gathered in a mountain forest to resolve all conflicts among the rebel groups and to declare the start of an offensive to "liberate Chechen land from Russian occupiers." Even journalists from some Arab newspapers managed to attend. Separatist websites subsequently posted video footage from the event.

Observers believed that the proposed 2006 Majlis would be an even a greater show and that a documentary video would appear on the Kavkazcenter website showing religious scholars and rebel commanders from all over the Caucasus pledging an oath to their leader, Imam Abdul-Khalim Sadulaev. However, nothing seemed to come of these plans. In May, Akhmed Zakaev, the Chechen rebel envoy outside Russia, told a Radio Liberty correspondent that Chechen field commander Doku Umarov had informed him by phone that the great council of rebel field commanders had already taken place in Chechnya. Zakaev did not say whether political issues had been discussed during the meeting or whether Sadulaev had been proclaimed imam of the North Caucasus. Apparently, the rebels had encountered some problems and decided not to hurry with an official declaration of North Caucasian independence led by Sadulaev.

Relations among different Caucasian ethnic groups have never been easy. During the Caucasian war of the 19th century, the nations of the North Caucasus united many times to fight against Russia, but they could never formulate a unified list of political demands or peace proposals to present to the Russian authorities. In 1837, when Russian Emperor Nicholas I visited the North Caucasus, local leaders failed to organize a unified delegation to meet him. Instead, representatives of each nation had their own demands for the tsar (Mayrbek Vachagaev, Chechnya in the 19th Century Caucasian Wars). Russia has always been able to exploit disagreements among the Caucasian groups in order to control the region.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the North Caucasian republics faced a new factor in the regional equation: the independent Chechen state. The attitudes of other Caucasian nations towards Chechnya are not simple. While the Caucasians admire the ability of the Chechen nation to defend its independence against Russian invasion, they are also afraid that an independent Chechnya would dominate the Caucasus. Although anti-Russian feelings are growing across the Caucasus, many locals are not ready to recognize Chechen leadership over the whole region. Islamic separatists are ready to accept military support from the Chechen rebels, but not all of them would welcome Sadulaev as their political leader.

When talking to Jamestown, one well-known public figure in Kabardino-Balkaria did not hide his sympathy for the rebels who attacked Nalchik, the republic capital, on October 13, 2005. Nevertheless, he fiercely rejected the claim that all Caucasian rebels were operating under the control of Chechen field commanders. "Of course," he said, "they [the rebels] have a unified network all over the Caucasus and they cooperate with each other, but at the same time the insurgency in each republic has its own leadership."

Afraid of inspiring anti-Chechen feelings, the Chechen separatists are usually very cautious when they talk about establishing an independent state in the Caucasus. Sadulaev has always tried to stress the equality of all Caucasian regions and of all Caucasian rebel groups in his statements. "In the future," he has said, "there are plans for creating a confederative state like the European Union" (see Chechnya Weekly, February 16). However, since Sadulaev has not officially been proclaimed imam of the North Caucasus, it means that he is still hard put to convince all North Caucasians who are in the anti-Russian camp that they need to have a single political structure and a single political leader.

This is not likely to influence the military strength of the Caucasian insurgency, since all the rebels in the region are determined to fight Russia together and to coordinate their operations with the Chechens. Regardless of whether the militants in Kabardino-Balkaria or Dagestan recognize Sadulaev as their political leader, all of them need the experience and the military skills of Basaev and other Chechen commanders. The Caucasian rebels cannot recognize Sadulaev as their political leader, but they must recognize Basaev as their supreme military commander for the sake of their own their survival. Nevertheless, if negotiations between the rebels and the Kremlin start one day, the political disunity of the North Caucasian insurgency could make their dialogue with Russia even more complicated.

http://www.jamestown.org/publications_details.php?volume_id=416&issue_id=3758&article_id=2371170

[Vancouver]

Russia is reporting the elimination of Ichkeria Islamist leader Abdul-Khalim Sadulaev (or Saydullayev).
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/5089942.stm

[Vancouver]

From BBC:

Rebel leader 'killed' in Chechnya
Abdul-Khalim Saydullayev was not a familiar figure

Chechen separatist rebel leader Abdul-Khalim Saydullayev has been killed in a police operation, Russian and pro-Moscow Chechen sources say.
He died in a gun battle in his home town, Argun, along with a Russian federal agent and a policeman, Russia's intelligence service says.

No comment from the rebels was immediately available.

Mr Saydullayev was appointed in 2005 to replace Aslan Maskhadov after the rebel president died in a Russian attack.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/5089942.stm

[Vancouver]

A little more on Sadulaev:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/06/18/ap/world/mainD8IAA7HG0.shtml

Wearing combat fatigues, Prime Minister Ramzan Kadyrov posed for TV cameras next to a half-naked bloodied body identified as the rebel leader's. He said a close associate of Sadulayev's tipped police to his whereabouts for the equivalent of $55.
"He urgently needed to buy a dose of heroin, so he sold his leader for heroin," Kadyrov, flanked by his lieutenants, said with a grin.

[Vancouver]

http://img78.imageshack.us/img78/5606/42169628936nn.jpg
The dead guy is Sadulaev.

[keith]

Chechen rebel leader dies in truck blast
By JUDITH INGRAM, Associated Press Writer

Chechen warlord Shamil Basayev, responsible for modern Russia's worst terrorist attacks, was killed Monday when a dynamite-laden truck exploded in his convoy, Russian officials said.

Federal Security Service head Nikolai Patrushev told President Vladimir Putin that Basayev had been killed overnight in Ingushetia, the area of southern Russia that borders Chechnya. Patrushev's meeting with Putin was shown on Russian state television.

Basayev, 41, was behind some of Russia's worst terror attacks, including the seizure of a Moscow theater in 2002 in which dozens of hostages and militants died, the 2004 school hostage taking in Beslan that killed 331, and the seizure of about 1,000 hostages at a hospital in Budyonnovsk that killed about 100.

Patrushev gave no details of Basayev's death in his televised remarks, but an Ingush regional Interior Ministry official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media, said he had been killed while accompanying a truck filled with 220 pounds of dynamite that blew up in the Ingush village of Ekazhevo early Monday.

Basayev was among four militants killed in the blast, which authorities earlier said had occurred inadvertently during a special police operation against rebels preparing an attack later Monday.

The Interfax news agency quoted Ingush Deputy Prime Minister Bashir Aushev as offering the same version of events, saying Basayev had been in a car accompanying the truck. He said Basayev's body had been identified "through some of the fragments, including his head," Interfax reported.

Patrushev told Putin that the Chechen rebels had hoped to "put political pressure on the Russian leadership" during the Group of Eight summit later this week, which Putin is chairing.

Patrushev said the operation to eliminate Basayev, in which many other rebels were killed, was thanks to intelligence operations abroad, "especially in those countries where arms were collected."

The rebels' London-based envoy, Akhmed Zakayev, could not immediately be reached, and a rebel-linked Web site that was considered a voice for Basayev, Kavkaz-Center, did not confirm or deny Patrushev's remarks.

"The Chechen command is not yet making any commentaries or declarations," the Web site said in a statement under a portrait of a pensive-looking Basayev wearing a beret.

Basayev has been reported to have been killed on many occasions, but this was the first time the killing had been announced at such a high level.

Putin called Basayev's killing "deserved retribution" for attacks in Beslan and Budyonnovsk, the RIA-Novosti news agency reported.

The attack on the Beslan school shocked Russia and divided the rebel movement, since civilians, including women and children, were taken hostage.

Basayev was the most notorious of the Chechen warlords, eluding Russian forces for years despite Kremlin vows to hunt him down and an offer of $10 million and plastic surgery to anyone providing information leading to his death

His grim, decade-long record of killing both civilians and soldiers reflected fanatical determination — a ferocity Russia has said was bolstered by help from international terrorist networks such as al-Qaida. Washington declared Basayev a terrorist and threat to the United States.

Basayev began his campaign even before the Soviet Union's demise — starting with the hijack of an airliner in 1991 — to attract interest in the separatist cause of Chechnya, a predominantly Muslim region in the Caucasus Mountains.

After Russian forces entered Chechnya in 1994, his exploits became more prominent. Basayev's forces buried a container of radioactive material in a Moscow park in 1995 — a warning of the mayhem they could inflict if they chose.

The Budyonnovsk hospital raid brought Basayev fame at home. When Russian troops pulled out in 1996 and Chechnya prepared to elect a president to lead it to de facto independence, Basayev ran for the job.

He lost to the late rebel commander Aslan Maskhadov and became his deputy. Basayev appeared at first to be trying to change from combatant to politician, trimming his flowing beard and trading his camouflage fatigues for a suit.

Alu Alkhanov, president of the Kremlin-backed government in Chechnya, said Basayev's killing likely would undermine the Chechen rebel movement irreparably.

"I consider that today can be considered the date of the logical end of the fight against illegal armed formations," he said, according to Interfax.

Anna Politkovskaya, a journalist who has frequently reported on Chechnya, agreed that Basayev's killing, if confirmed, would be a huge propaganda coup for Putin ahead of the G-8 summit.

"Basayev is major symbol for Putin and his elimination just before the G-8 summit is an amazing present for him," she said.

But she said that his death, just like that of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, al-Qaida in Iraq's slain leader, would not bring an end to the conflict in Chechnya and the wider North Caucasus region, which has been fueled by boiling resentment of widespread human rights abuses against civilians.

"If you look at the situation in the North Caucasus, not just in Chechnya, the ranks of the rebel resistance are constantly being replenished," she said.

Another rebel leader, Doku Umarov, pledged last month that rebels would step up their attacks against Russian forces.

Umarov took over as Chechnya's new separatist leader last month after police killed Abdul-Khalim Sadulayev during a raid in an eastern Chechen town. Sadulayev's predecessor, Maskhadov, was killed in a police operation in March 2005.

Maskhadov was considered more open to negotiations than Basayev, who cultivated a reputation for ruthlessness.

Umarov last month named Basayev as his vice president. It was unclear whether that represented a radicalization of Umarov's faction or whether it was an attempt to rein in Basayev by Umarov, who had pledged not to continue attacks on civilians.

___

Associated Press correspondent Jim Heintz in Moscow and Sergei Venyavsky in Rostov-on-Don, Russia, contributed to this report.



Copyright © 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.


Copyright © 2006 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060710/ap_on_re_eu/russia_basayev_9

[NYer]

Count Dooku Surounded? (http://billroggio.com/archives/2006/11/chechen_terrorist_do.php)

The Russian Army is conducting major combat operations in the hunt for new Chechen terrorist leader Doku Umarov. The Scotsman reports that a source within Umarov's organization stated “large numbers of Russian troops had surrounded Umarov and his forces in a forest near the village of Yandi-Katar on the border between Ingushetia and Chechnya.” A Russian security operative confirms the report. The village has been surrounded, and Russian artillery and helicopters have been pounding the region for three days straight. The “Chechen Committee for National Salvation” released a statement that Umarov has been wounded.

[Vancouver]

I'm hearing that a Bogdan Sulimanov, said to be a guerilla leader in Shatoysky (part of Chechnya), has been killed.

[keith]

Rebels Reportedly Becoming More Active

Kavkazky Uzel reported on July 4 that the “armed formations of the separatists” have become noticeably more active in recent days, with armed clashes between the rebels and security forces taking place in Chechnya’s mountains and foothills. “In Chechnya, rumors are actively being spread that in the coming months the militants may launch a series of large-scale offensive actions for the purpose of demonstrating their real capabilities,” the website wrote. “Some time ago, information appeared that the separatist leader Dokka Umarov demanded that members of the republic’s law-enforcement bodies quit their jobs, promising ‘amnesty’ in exchange.” Kavkazky Uzel quoted a Grozny resident, identified only as Sakhab, as saying: “Several weeks ago, leaflets with an appeal from Dokka Umarov to the employees of the police force were found in various places. Apparently, they said that those policemen who do not quit their jobs soon will be destroyed. Those who ‘come to their senses’ were promised amnesty.”

The website quoted an anonymous Chechen Interior Ministry officer as saying: “The recently noted activation of the gang formations is connected to the fact that the latest ‘tranche’ from the terrorists’ foreign sponsors was received by Umarov not long ago. So the gang formations are trying to work off that money. We have information that earlier, on Umarov’s orders, several hundred sets of police and military uniforms were purchased. It cannot be ruled out that the bandits will carry out a series of terrorist sorties while impersonating members of law-enforcement bodies. There have already been several cases in which unknown armed persons have set up checkpoints on motorways in the foothills and mountains and conducted motor transport checks.”

Kavkazky Uzel reported that another sign of the seriousness of the situation in the republic is the fact that in recent months, there have been cases of young people heading to the mountains to join the rebels. “Despite the fact that the head of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, said that these cases are strictly isolated in nature, it is being said in the republic that dozens and hundreds of young people have recently joined the militants.”

In February of this year, Arkady Yedelev, head of the Regional Operations Headquarters for the Anti-Terrorist Operation in the North Caucasus, said that there were only 450 militants in Chechnya, but warned that that this number could grow if “foreign centers once again provide money to sabotage Russia” (Chechnya Weekly, February 15).

In May, the mufti of the Chechen Republic, Sultan Mirzaev, admitted that some young people in Chechnya had been heading to the mountains to join the rebels (Chechnya Weekly, May 24). In June, the federal Prosecutor-General’s Office posted an item on its website reporting that there was a growing problem in Chechnya of law enforcement officers joining “illegal armed groups” (Chechnya Weekly, June 14).

Several days after that item appeared on the federal Prosecutor-General’s Office website, Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov denied that Chechen policemen and youth are switching to the side of the rebels. “The rumors about policemen and young men going to the mountains are deliberately being spread in Chechnya to create an atmosphere of insecurity,” Kadyrov said during the opening ceremony of a new sports club and mosque (Chechnya Weekly, June 21).

Chechen Interior Minister Ruslan Alkhanov echoed Kadyrov’s denial on June 28, calling reports of Interior Ministry employees joining the ranks of “illegal armed formations” provocative and aimed at discrediting the police. “We stress, with full responsibility, that there is not a single Chechen Interior Ministry employee among the remaining militants,” Alkhanov said. “On my orders, the internal affairs directorate of the MVD of the Chechen Republic carefully checked this information. It [the verification] concerned practically the entire staff. All the employees are on the job performing their duties. No cases of police going over to the ranks of the NVFs [illegal armed formations] were uncovered.”

Alkhanov added: “The Chechen Interior Ministry has detailed information on those who have joined illegal armed formations over the past 18 months. They total about 30. Most of them are teenagers. They were tricked by recruiters. They warned them ahead of the call-up [conscription into the Russian army] that they would be sent to serve outside Chechnya, where they would be bullied. The agitators told the young people they could return home after two or three months and ask for amnesty, and as former rebels, they would be exempt from the draft.” Alkhanov said that the total number of rebels and rebel collaborators fluctuates between 200 and 250.

http://www.jamestown.org/chechnya_weekly/article.php?articleid=2373519

[keith]

Bombings and Shootouts Reported Across Chechnya

Interfax reported on July 3 that a homemade explosive device went off in Grozny’s Oktyabrsky district on the evening of July 2, wounding a policeman. A law-enforcement source told the news agency that the device was detonated by remote control as a three-man police patrol was passing by. The explosion wounded a policeman, who was taken to the hospital. According to the same source, a second bombing was narrowly averted when police discovered an explosive device inside a Zhiguli car parked on the side of the road 20 meters from the first blast. The device consisted of, among other things, a metal bucket filled with plastic explosives and steel scraps that was wired to a radio receiver. The source said that engineers defused the homemade bomb.

The article continues with more cases of IED dets and shoot outs.
http://www.jamestown.org/chechnya_weekly/article.php?articleid=2373520

Parliamentarian, FSB Officer, Policemen and Academic Targeted in Dagestan

A deputy in Dagestan’s People’s Assembly, Magomedgusein Nasrutdinov, was shot and seriously wound in the center of the republic’s capital, Makhachkala, on July 2, ITAR-Tass reported. As Newsru.com reported on July 3, Nasrutdinov is also the chairman of the board of directors of Daggaz, a subsidiary of Gazprom, Russia’s state-controlled natural gas monopoly. In June 2005, the director of the Khasavyurt branch of Daggaz, Zubair Tataev, was murdered by gunmen who fired more than forty rounds into his car. Tataev was also a deputy in Dagestan’s parliament.

An officer of the Dagestani branch of the Federal Security Service (FSB) was wounded along with a companion in an attack at a hotel in Makhachkala, ITAR-Tass reported on July 2. The news agency quoted the press service of Dagestan’s Interior Ministry as saying that the suspects in the attack were seized at a private house in Khasavyurt along with forged identity cards for employees of the military and city prosecutor’s offices, two Makarov pistols with cartridges and 996,000 rubles (around $38,800). “The masterminds paid this money to the detainees for the murder of the security officer,” the Dagestani Interior Ministry’s press service stated.

Unknown assailants shot and killed two police officers in Dagestan on June 27, the Associated Press reported. The head of the anti-organized crime police unit in the town of Khasavyurt, near the border with Chechnya, died instantly when unidentified assailants sprayed the car he was driving with automatic gunfire, said Anzhela Martirosova, a spokeswoman for the regional branch of Russia’s Interior Ministry. She said that another police officer accompanying him died of his wounds later, while the attackers fled. An academic from the Dagestan Pedagogical University who was shot and wounded by an unidentified assailant on June 26 died in the hospital on June 27, Dagestan’s Interior Ministry reported.

http://www.jamestown.org/chechnya_weekly/article.php?articleid=2373522

And to round out the zaniness

District Official Assassinated in Ingushetia

Kavkazky Uzel, citing Radio Liberty, reported on July 4 that an observation tower of the border department of the Federal Security Service (FSB) branch in Ingushetia was shot up. Nobody was hurt in the attack in Nazran, the republic’s largest city. RIA Novosti reported on July 3 that one person was wounded when a car came under automatic weapons fire at the Ekazhevsky roundabout outside of Nazran. A source in Ingushetia’s Interior Ministry said the victim in that attack, a former policeman named Sapraliev, was seriously wounded, and that the attackers made off with his vehicle.

An attack in the Ingush town of Karabulak on July 3 killed Khavazh Daurbekov, initially described in press reports as Karabulak’s deputy head but later identified as the deputy head of Nazran’s Leninsky district administration. Daurbekov was reportedly shot and killed not far from his house in Karabulak by attackers who fired from a car. As RIA Novosti reported on July 3, Karabulak, located northeast of Nazran, was in the media spotlight two weeks ago, when five to seven assailants fired at least 20 rocket-propelled grenades at a special-purpose police base (Chechnya Weekly, June 21).

RIA Novosti reported on June 29 that a man was killed in a bomb explosion in Karabulak. A source in the Karabulak branch of the Interior Ministry told the news agency that according to preliminary data, the blast was the equivalent of 500 grams of TNT, and that the ministry was investigating “whether the deceased had anything to do with the explosion,” which happened near the town’s outpatient clinic. About a half an hour before the explosion, a UAZ car carrying special purpose police troops in Karabulak came under fire from automatic weapons. None of the servicemen was hurt in that attack.

Interfax reported on June 28 that a border detachment was fired on in Nazran but that no one was hurt. “The detachment came under fire in a drive-by attack,” a law-enforcement source told the news agency, adding that the servicemen returned fire but that the assailants managed to escape.

The Regnum news agency reported on June 29 that a group of around 100 Ingush women blocked the Caucasus Federal Highway near the village of Ekazhevo in Ingushetia’s Nazran district to protest the actions of security service officers who, the women alleged, had repeatedly abducted young Ingush men accused of various crimes. One of the protesters, Madina Ausheva, told the news agency that a group of unknown masked men claiming to be with the Prosecutor-General’s Office had burst into her home in the village of Surkhakhi on June 27 and tried to detain her husband, Khalid Aushev. However, village residents stood up for him and brought him to the republic’s Interior Ministry on their own. Madina Ausheva said her husband was detained on unconfirmed charges that his car was spotted during a militant assault in Ingushetia.

http://www.jamestown.org/chechnya_weekly/article.php?articleid=2373521

[Petronas]

Chechen authorities say 59 militants killed since January
19:17 | 19/ 10/ 2007

GROZNY, October 19 (RIA Novosti) - Fifty-nine militants including six warlords have been killed in special operations in Chechnya since the beginning of the year, the republic's interior minister said Friday. Ruslan Alkhanov said police in the troubled North Caucasus republic detained 291 suspected militants during the period, and that 127 gunmen voluntarily turned themselves in. "Only one terrorist attack has been committed in Chechnya since the beginning of the year, compared to nine in the same period of last year," he told an interior ministry meeting.

Alkhanov also said 55 police officers lost their lives and 113 were wounded in special operations against militants.

Chechnya was devastated by two military campaigns, in 1994-1996 and 1999-2001, after which Moscow significantly scaled back its military presence in the province. However, sporadic fighting and terrorist attacks still occur in the area, despite a widely publicized amnesty campaign announced by Russian authorities.

The amnesty followed the killing by federal troops of Chechen warlord and number one terrorist Shamil Basayev, who was behind the 2004 Beslan school siege and other atrocities. More than 600 militants in Chechnya and adjacent provinces reportedly surrendered their arms last year in response to a six-month amnesty declared by the Russian government on July 15 for those not involved in any serious crimes.

http://en.rian.ru/russia/20071019/84655442.html

[Petronas]

Russian invaders attacked in Ingushetia. Bodies of dead traitors brought to Urus-Martan
18 October 2007, 20:00

A successful special operation have been conducted in Ingushetia by the Mujahideen of Ingush sector of Caucasus Front, sources from Ingushetia reported on Thursday. A vehicle of Russian kafirs (infidels, AKA Russian invaders) from Arkhangelsk province of Russia has came under heavy machine gun fire in the village of Ekazhevo, Nazran. According to the latest information 4 kafirs were eliminated and 2 others were seriously injured. They were taken to the hospital.

2 colonels, a major and an ensign were among the dead. One more colonel was seriously injured. The occupation sources report that the attack was carried out at 12:30 local time. Mobile squad of Mujahideen left the operation scene without getting any casualties.

At the same time, a senior police murtad (apostate, AKA national traitor) was attacked in the village Sagopshi. His car came under fire when he was leaving his house. But the murtad have managed to escape and at full speed rushed towards Malgobek. A mobile group of Mujahideen in the "Zhiguli" car had pursued the murtad with gun fire until he reached the checkpoint at the entrance to Malgobek. At the entrance to the city a mobile team Mujahideen had ended the persecution.

Sources from Ingushetia also reported that formations of Russian kafirs moved to the center of the city of Karabulak and blocked several streets. Kafirs took combat positions in the private homes of the people, without any explanations and warnings. Later on occupation sources said that one Ingush Mujahid was in the sealed off zone. Armored vehicles and hundreds of commandos were pushed against one Mujahid. After a few hours the blockade was ended and armored vehicle withdrawn from the city. The same situation took place in the village of Inarki. Formations of Ingush murtads and Russian kafirs sealed off the village.

Meanwhile KC's sources from Chechnya reported 4 corpses of Chechen murtads who had been eliminated during the firefight in Chechen mountains, were brought to the village of Urus-Martan on October 18. The ringleaders of murtads did not explain anything to the relatives of the eliminated puppets, by only demanding from them not to talk about it to anyone. In the afternoon several funerals had been conducted in the Urus-Martan.

Let us remind that a checkpoint of Russian invaders (kafirs) was bombarded in the capital of Jokhar in the evening on October 16. According to the sources a gang of Chechen murtads (puppets, national traitors) was on the duty during the attack. As a result of attack 2 traitors were badly wounded..

Let's point out in this regard that Chechnya is under tough information blockade. Russian kafirs and Chechen murtads pursue anyone who would try to report about armed clashes in and losses of occupiers and their stooges in the republic.

http://kavkazcenter.com/eng/content/2007/10/18/8975.shtml