Former Chechen president Yandarbiyev killed in car explosion

FORMER Chechen president Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev, who has been linked to al-Qaida and was accused by Russia of maintaining international terrorist ties, was killed yesterday after his car exploded in the Qatari capital Doha.

An official at the Qatari interior ministry said the explosion killed Mr Yandarbiyev and injured his 13-year-old son.

A doctor at Hamad General Hospital said Mr Yandarbiyev died from his injuries on his way to the hospital. His son was in a critical condition.

The doctor said they were the only two people brought to the Hamad General Hospital, but a hospital official had said earlier two bodyguards were dead on arrival. The Russian Embassy had no immediate comment.

The Qatar Interior Ministry said it was investigating the incident.

Russia had been seeking the extradition of Mr Yandarbiyev, who has lived in Qatar for at least three years, accusing him of organising various kidnappings and of maintaining international terrorist ties.

The Russian news agency quoted Chechnya's Kremlin-backed President Akhmad Kadyrov as saying, Mr Yandarbiyev was "the main ideologue of the separatists".

Spokesman for Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service (a top KGB successor) Boris Labusov said that his agency had no involvement in Mr Yandarbiyev's death, according to the ITAR-Tass news agency.

Arab satellite channels Al-Jazeera and Al-Arabiya reported that two people were killed in the explosion.