Chechen warlord killed

Prominent Chechen warlord, Arbi Barayev, was killed in an operation by Russian troops who had blockaded a central Chechen town for days to search for him and other rebel fighters, officials said today.

A total of 17 Chechen rebels were killed in the eight-day operation in Alkhan-Kala, said Igor Botnikov, spokesman for the Kremlin’s agency on Chechnya.