Gazeta daily: Abu al-Walid eliminated similarly to Dudayev

Arab mercenary Abu al-Walid was eliminated in Chechnya in the course of a thoroughly planned operation by Russian special services: the assault aircraft attacked his base in the mountains, reported the daily newspaper Gazeta referring to a source at the Federal Security Service (FSB). The daily notes that the way of the elimination of al-Walid (his real name is Abdel Aziz al-Gamdi) reminds the operation against the first president of rebellious Ichkeria Djokhar Dudayev. In 1996, special services registered his satellite phone call and reported the position data to the federal aviation. Dudayev was killed by a rocket bomb.

The FSB has not officially confirmed the fact of al-Walid's elimination so far as it has no material evidence of his death. But according to the daily, the FSB has no doubts the leader of Arab mercenaries is dead.

The mercenary's relatives living abroad have confirmed information about his death. However the Russian President's Plenipotentiary in the South Federal District Vladimir Yakovlev reminded the media had reported on the death of al-Walid many times but that information had been denied later. For the last time, the terrorist was "killed" in the autumn of 2003.

Editors note: See also the article "Kavkaz Center: Abu al-Walid killed in air bomb explosion".