A Saudi man who is the purported spiritual leader of Arab fighters in Russia's rebel republic of Chechnya has been killed in fighting, an Internet statement said Saturday. "Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdullah bin Saif al-Jaber al-Buaynayn al-Tamimi, also known as Abu Omar al-Saif, the spiritual guide of the mujahedeen (holy fighters) in Chechnya, was martyred during a fight with the Russians, the enemies of God," said the statement, whose authenticity could not be independently verified. Other Islamists' sites reported the death of Saif's wife in the same fight.Meanwhile, another statement posted Saturday on the Internet said that Jaber al-Taifi, deputy of the mujahedeen's emir, the Jordanian Abu Hafs al-Ourdoni, was also killed.
| A two-fer! |
In April 2004, another Saudi Abdul Aziz al-Ghamdi, also known as Abu Walid, who was considered by Russian intelligence as the chief of Arab fighters, was killed in Chechnya. Ghamdi succeeded Arab warlord "Khattab," who was also Saudi-born, after he was killed two years ago.