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Basayev's commander for central Chechnya killed
 Pro-Russian Chechen forces on Friday killed a top commander of rebels battling Moscow's rule in Chechnya, an army spokesman said. Yunadi Turchayev, who led rebels in central Chechnya and in the capital Grozny for at least a year, was a top commander in rebel forces controlled by Aslan Maskhadov and warlord Shamil Basayev. "A Chechen interior ministry patrol discovered the hiding place of Yunadi Turchayev and his companions," said the army. "In the course of the capture operation the bandits tried to mount armed resistance, and were destroyed by return fire."Rebel news sources did not confirm or deny the report. Turchayev, 32, was part of a younger generation of Chechen fighters who have moved up to fill positions vacated by commanders who have either been killed or fled abroad. He was also charged with recruiting young men into the rebel forces, the army said. The army trumpeted the operation as revealing the level of cooperation between federal forces and local pro-Moscow police. But the operation by the local police may highlight the army's failure to kill or capture the top two leaders. Posted by: Dan Darling 2005-02-18 |
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