MOSCOW, Sept. 17 (Xinhuanet) -- An influential Chechen warlord was killed allegedly by the men of rival group leader Shamil Basayev, the Interfax news agency reported Saturday.

    Akhmad Avdorkhanov, a one-time aide to the late Chechen rebel leader Aslan Maskhadov and the commander of the so-called Eastern Front of Ichkeria, died "at the hands of Basayev's men," Chechnya's First Deputy Prime Minister Ramzan Kadyrov was quoted as saying.

    He might have been poisoned to death, according to Interfax.

    Avdorkhanov was considered moderate and a rival to Basayev. Kadyrov said he "was among the most influential field commanders, was notable for his particular courage, was categorically against Wahhabis (radical Muslims), and did not recognize Basayev."

    After Maskhadov was killed in Chechnya in March this year, Avdorkhanov was recognized as the guerilla leader, posing a real threat to Basayev, whose men had repeatedly plotted to eliminate Avdorkhanov, said the deputy premier.

    But the immediate motive behind the murder is the 1.5 million US dollars recently received by the Chechen separatists. "The incident that led to Avdorkhanov's death was prompted by Basayev'sattempts to lay his hands on this money," Kadyrov said.

    Avdorkhanov's death confirms that "the leaders of illegal armedgroups, primarily Basayev, have no ideals, but only the desire to make money, kill, and please their foreign patrons, despite numerous victims among the Chechen people," the official noted.

    Chechnya is Russia's North Caucasus republic where Kremlin asserts control after years of fighting separatists, who, however,occasionally launch guerrilla attacks from their mountain hideouts.

    On Friday, the Russian Foreign Ministry demanded militant Chechen extremists be added to the United Nations' anti-terrorist list and that sanctions be imposed on them. Enditem