Saudi-Born Leader Killed in Chechnya

[demdave]

Russian officials reacted cautiously Monday to reports that a Saudi-born rebel commander in Chechnya had been killed, while a rebel Web site said the zealous Muslim died from shrapnel wounds.

Arab TV stations on Sunday reported that Abu Walid, also known as Abdul Aziz al-Ghamdi, had been killed by Russian government forces in Chechnya, quoting his brother. Badr Eldinne al-Chechani, a former deputy speaker of Chechen parliament and current director of the Jordan-based Arab-Caucasian Studies and Research Center, also confirmed the death in a telephone interview with The Associated Press.

Kavkaz Center, a Chechen rebel Web site, quoted a rebel source as saying Abu Walid had been praying Friday at a rebel base in the mountains of Chechnya when a bomb exploded next to him. He died from shrapnel wounds to his spine, it said.

But Russian officials, usually keen to trumpet the deaths of prominent rebel leaders, were notably cautious in their statements Monday.

http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/w-eur/2004/apr/19/041901531.html