Chechen militant leader Umarov tied to Domodedovo bombing - Khloponin
UFA, February 11 (RIA Novosti) - Chechen militant leader Doku Umarov has been tied to the terrorist attack in late January at Moscow's Domodedovo International Airport, North Caucasus Federal District presidential envoy Alexander Khloponin said on Friday.
Image adapted from original copyright (c) 2011. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036 www.rferl.org/; original image appeared at www.rferl.org/conte nt/article/1347686.html
The powerful blast that ripped through the international arrivals hall of Moscow's busiest airport on January 24 killed 36 people and injured more than 100.
"There is involvement; Doku Umarov's participation is being investigated," Khloponin told journalists.
Khloponin added, however, that in his opinion Umarov "is no longer as influential as before in the Caucasus in regard to defining positions or setting tasks."
Earlier reports said Chechen warlord Umarov, who claimed responsibility for the deadly Moscow subway bombings in March, could have been killed in a special operation in January. A source in the Russian special services refuted the rumors saying there were "no facts."
"Police are continuing the search for the gang leader and the search will go on until he is killed or detained despite [rumors] that he died, ran or is hiding in a hole," Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov told reporters in mid-January commenting on the information on Umarov's death.
In the past years, there have been several reports about the death of Umarov, currently Chechnya's most wanted terrorist leader, but all have been proven false.
The majority of notorious North Caucasus militant leaders, including Shamil Basayev, Khalim Saidullayev, Aslan Maskhadov, Emir Ibn al Khattab and others, have been killed in the past ten years.
Keyword Tags:
