Chechen rebel leader killed - officials

Chechen rebel leader Aslan Maskhadov has been killed during a “special operation” by Russian forces, a spokesman said today.

Russian Colonel Ilya Shabalkin said Maskhadov died in Tolstoy-Yurt, a village in the northern sector of Chechnya that has been under tight control of Russian forces.

Earlier today, Russian officials reported that three rebels who were planning a large terrorist attack on the administration building in Tolstoy-Yurt had been captured.

Maskhadov led the Chechen separatists who fought Russian forces to a standstill in a 1994-96 war and he became the republic’s president after the Russian military withdrew.

But he appeared to lose substantial influence to Chechen warlord Shamil Basayev and by the time Russian forces returned to Chechnya in 1999, he was believed by many to command loyalty among only a relatively small faction of fighters.

Maskhadov was regarded by some observers as comparatively moderate, in contrast to Basayev, an adherent of the strict Wahhabi sect of Islam and who has claimed responsibility for some of Russia’s most horrifying terrorist attacks, including last year’s seizure of a school which ended with the deaths of more than 330 people, about half of them children.

Maskhadov last week reportedly called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to meet to discuss an end to the war. But the Kremlin has firmly rejected talks with any rebel faction and Russian officials have alleged Maskhadov was connected to terrorist attacks such as the school seizure and the 2002 seizure of hundreds of hostages at a Moscow theatre.

Russian television showed video footage of corpse claimed to be that of Maskhadov.