(London Times) At least 55 people were killed and 123 wounded when two suicide bombers blew up a truck and a jeep filled with TNT at the headquarters of Chechnya's pro-Russian administration in Grozny last Friday. Russian officials blamed a radical Muslim for the attack, Abu Al Walid, 35, an Arab field commander in the Chechen rebel leadership. A radical Wahhabi - a follower of the Muslim sect that dominates worship in Saudi Arabia - Al Walid is believed to be a Saudi and to have fought the Russians in Afghanistan. Al Walid was deputy to a Saudi-born Islamic militant called Khattab, who commanded all Arab volunteers fighting in Chechnya. Khattab was assassinated with a poisoned letter last spring by the Federal Security Service (FSB), the former KGB.
2002-12-30 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive