20:49, 25 August 2003

Shamil Basayev is hiding in mountains

One of the leaders of the Chechen illegal military units Shamil Basayev is on the territory of Chechnya, hiding in the mountains of the Vedeno region. This was reported by telephone from the headquarters of the United Forces in the Northern Caucasus with a reference to operative information.

This is particularly proven by the fact that the rebel's personal archives were found recently during the actions of operative investigation in Vedeno. At the headquarters, they do not exclude that it was Basayev who planned the recently launched attempt to seize the village of Avtury which is situated on one of the main routes from the mountains to the plains of Chechnya.

However, that time the Chechen soldiers were repulsed, having lost 19 people, and escaped in the direction of the Vedeno region, noted the source in the headquarters of the United Forces.

Source: ITAR-TASS News Agency