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| Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia |
| Video shows Basayev, al-Qaeda lieutenant, planning Beslan massacre |
| 2005-09-02 |
| A videotape obtained by The Associated Press shows notorious Chechen warlord Shamil Basayev apparently preparing for last year's horrific hostage-taking at the Beslan school. The video, acquired Wednesday, appears to show Basayev along with several other fighters camped out in a forest. There was no way to immediately determine its authenticity, but prosecutors have said such videos are not uncommon in Chechnya and other southern regions -- produced by militants often with Arabic soundtracks to try to attract financing for the Chechen rebel cause. Basayev, who has claimed responsibility for the Sept. 1-3 hostage-taking at Beslan's School No. 1, is seen in the video in his trademark black beard and camouflage fatigues. In one frame, several fighters can be seen sitting on the ground in a forest, smiling and talking. A man in glasses, a beard and dressed in fatigues resembles Abu Dzeit, a Kuwaiti national and suspected al-Qaida liaison who was killed by security forces in February. He is sitting cross-legged on the ground, apparently translating from Arabic for a man seated next to him. Later, the man who looks like Abu Dzeit holds up an optical gun sight for the video, speaking in what sounds like Arabic. At another point, the video camera zooms in on a man known as the Colonel, who is accused of leading the raid on School No. 1. The interviewer asks in Russian if the Colonel is longing for Allah, and the Colonel responds yes. In another frame, several men can be seen in a thick forest wearing fatigues and laughing. One man points at a collection of tarps and ground pads, telling the interviewer it is the fighters' mosque. Later, a man is shown in a rain poncho, smiling and laughing, followed by the man known as the Colonel. Another section shows Basayev and other fighters huddled under plastic tarps in a forest as rain falls around them. Basayev and Abu Dzeit are shown holding up their fingers and smiling. A later part of the video, which was broadcast last year on a web site sympathetic to Chechen rebels, shows Basayev amid a stash of weaponry, apparently during a June 2004 raid in Ingushetia, which borders both Chechnya and North Ossetia, where Beslan is located. Authorities say that some of the weapons seized in the Ingushetia raid were used in the Beslan hostage-taking, and that the militants used several camps in Ingushetia and North Ossetia to prepare for the raid. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |
| #1 Strikin for their muzzie boy scout Jihadi in Training patch. |
| Posted by: Mona Gorilla 2005-09-02 17:45 |