Relatd News Story:

Chechen rebel leader killed

    MOSCOW, June 17 (Xinhua) -- Chechen rebel leader, the so-called president of Ichkeria, Abdul-Malik Sadulayev, was killed in a special operation in Chechnya, Russian news agencies reported on Sunday.

    The operation in which Sadulayev was killed was carried out in the Chechen city of Argun, Chechen Cabinet Minister Muslim Khuchiyev was quoted by the Interfax news agency as saying.

    Acting on a tip, officers from the Akhmat Kadyrov special police task force No. 2 and the Argun district police department pinpointed Sadulayev's whereabouts and killed him, Khuchiyev said.

    "Measures are being taken now to legally formalize the fact of Sadulayev's killing," he said.

    Argun police department chief Ali Tagirov has confirmed Sadulayev's death.

    "Investigating officials have arrived at the scene of the operation, people who knew Sadulayev well are being taken there, and procedures to identify the man's body are being carried out. At the same time, the participants in the operation have no doubts about the very fact of Sadulayev's killing," Tagirov said.

    Sadulayev was elected so-called president of Ichkeria in March 2005 when Chechen rebel leader Aslan Maskhadov was killed. Enditem