Maskhadov's capture rumored in Chechnya

The special operation to search for and liquidate the group of separatists led by field commander Akhmed Avdorkhanov that have been held in the south of Chechnya since September 25, is over, the Caucasian Knot correspondent was told in the Chechen Interior Ministry. Maskhadov and Avdorkhanov, along with some rebels, are apparently managed to break through the encirclement.

Over one thousand officers of republican security agencies were involved in the special operation with the code name Retribution, which was held on the border between three mountainous districts of Chechnya: Nozhay-Yurt, Vedeno, and Kurchaloi districts.

Meantime, rumors are being spread in Chechnya that officers of Chechen security agencies, led by Ramzan Kadyrov, succeeded in taking the Ichkerian leader prisoner and he is allegedly being held on the base of the Chechen president's security service in Tsentoroi, the Kadyrov family's native village. According to unconfirmed reports from unofficial sources, Ramzan Kadyrov will present captured Maskhadov to the public on October 5, the day of the inauguration of the new Chechen president, Alu Alkhanov. Chechen law enforcement agencies and the republican military commandant's office have refused to give any comments on the matter.