Chechnya: Russian Forces Kill Rebel Commander
Moscow, 12 July 2003 (RFE/RL) -- The Russian military said today troops killed a leading Chechen rebel military commander responsible for training female suicide bombers.
Military spokesman Ilya Shabalkin said 21-year-old Aslan Gasayev was killed during a special forces operation in the village of Alkhan-Kala.
Authorities were investigating whether Gasayev had played a role in a double suicide bombing at a rock concert in Moscow last week and in this week's attempted bombing of a restaurant in the capital.
Three of Gasayev's bodyguards were also killed.
Earlier today a land mine blast in the Vedeno district killed three Russian sappers and wounded three others.
In a separate explosion, two police officers were injured in Alkhan-Kala. Interfax said a woman and a child were hurt in a shootout that followed.
Copyright (c) 2003. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. www.rferl.org
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