19 minutes ago
World - Reuters
By Sonia Oxley
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Chechen rebel leader Aslan Maskhadov has been killed by Russian troops fighting to quell a long rebellion in the mainly Muslim Caucasus region, the Russian army announced Tuesday.
Russian television showed what it said was Maskhadov's body.
The death of Maskhadov, 53, would boost Russian President Vladimir Putin, who built his power largely on a tough line against the Chechen rebels. The armed campaign which Maskhadov led had brought bombings to the very heart of Russia.
"The Federal Security forces, while conducting a special operation ... killed international terrorist and rebel leader Aslan Maskhadov," army spokesman Ilya Shabalkin told Reuters by telephone.
Mashkadov's envoy to the Nordic countries, Usman Ferzaouli based in Copenhagen, said: "They have confirmed it many times. They have confirmed that the war in Cherchnya is over many times."
"If still we and my colleagues have not heard anything, then the president (Maskhadov) is not killed but alive," he said.
Maskhadov has a $10 million reward on his head.
Moscow blames Maskhadov for a string of deadly operations in Russia, including an attack on a Moscow theater, a bombing opposite the Kremlin and an armed action against a school in the south Russian town of Beslan.
At least 326 hostages -- half of them children -- died at the school in Beslan last year.
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Moscow also links Maskhadov, and field commander Shamil Basayev, to groups that conducted attacks such as the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.
Recently Maskhadov had called for talks with Moscow on Chechen demands for independence, but the Kremlin insists it will not negotiate with terrorists.
Some critics of Moscow's policies in Chechnya saw Maskhadov as more moderate than Basayev and a man with whom the Kremlin could negotiate.
Russian leaders, fearing a breakaway by Chechnya could trigger secession moves by other regions in the sprawling federation, have fought two wars in Chechnya.
Tens of thousands were killed on both sides in the first conflict from 1994-96. Putin sent troops back into the territory in 1999 to cement his image as a strong leader ahead of his election as president in 2000. The territory suffered widespread devastation and thousands more were killed.
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