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| Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia |
| Alternate version of the FSB statement on al-Qaeda in the Caucasus |
| 2004-12-16 |
| The chief of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) said a network of the international terrorist organization Al Qaeda has been exposed in southern Russia. "About 10 representatives of Al Qaeda are staying in the North Caucasus," FSB director said at a meeting with the heads of Russia's leading media outlets on Wednesday. Nikolai Patrushev added that his organization would take measures to neutralize their activity. He said that after Arab mercenary Khattab had been destroyed, Al Qaeda representative in Chechnya Abu Havs took his place. Patrushev said one of Al Qaeda representatives, Abu Muskhab, had been detained and is giving valuable evidence. Focusing on the FSB activity in Chechnya, Patrushev stressed that anti-terrorist operations in the region have made it possible "to ensure on the whole a necessary level of law and order and public security in the republic, boost the process of the restoration in its social sphere, economy as well as the formation of republican bodies of power". This year, FSB officers have neutralized over 200 gunmen, including such notorious terrorists as Abu al-Valid, Ruslan Gelayev and other Chechen terrorist leaders. Over 900 gunmen have been detained on suspicion of their involvement in terrorist activity. Over 800 militant facilities have been destroyed and 1,500 units of different arms have been seized this year, he added. More than 20 hostages have been released in Chechnya, including the head of the Dagestani office of Doctors Without Borders (Medecins Sans Frontieres), Arjan Erkel and Slovak national Miriam Evikova, staffer of a humanitarian organization. Patrushev also said the Federal Security Service has drawn up the list of people posing the biggest threat for Russia's security. The FSB director said the list includes Chechen extremist leaders Shamil Basayev, Aslan Maskhadov, Doku Umarov as well as Al Qaeda's representative in Chechnya Abu Havs. He also named Movladi Udugov, one of the main ideologists of Chechen extremism, among those on the list who are staying abroad. The FSB chief said his agency is working on the list, stressing that those people "must be either neutralized or stand trial," the FSB chief emphasized. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |