From: MSN NicknameEagle_wng (Original Message) Sent: 7/10/2006 6:49 AM
Last Updated: Monday, 10 July 2006, 13:07 GMT 14:07 UK
Chechen warlord Basayev 'killed'
Chechen warlord Shamil Basayev (1999 file pic)
Shamil Basayev: Blamed for atrocities in Russia
The most wanted Chechen rebel warlord, Shamil Basayev, has been killed, Russian media report.
Basayev was killed in a special operation overnight in Ingushetia, near Chechnya, Russia's FSB security service chief Nikolai Patrushev said.
President Vladimir Putin said Basayev's killing was "deserved retribution" for terror attacks, including the 2004 mass hostage-taking at a school in Beslan.
Basayev, a key Chechen rebel commander, led many major attacks against Russia.
The September 2004 attack on a school in Beslan, in the North Caucasus, led to at least 331 deaths. It triggered outrage in Russia and other countries, as many women and children were among the victims.
The reported death of Basayev has not yet been confirmed by Chechen rebel sources.
The BBC's Damian Grammaticas in Moscow ...
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