Basayev, Dead or Alive?

MOSNews reported earlier today that Shamil Basayev, the Most Wanted Chechen Terrorist and ruthless ringleader of the Beslan School massacre, among other terrorist attacks, may have been killed in fighting in Nalchik, Kabardino-Balkarian State of Russia. This was originally reported on Chechen Society Newspaper citing a Federal Security Service source. UPI ran the story. Powerline commented on it. Later, MOSNews pulled back the story:

According to same sources, even Chechnya president Alou Alkhanov was then prepared to break the news on Basayev’s liquidation. But subsequent check revealed no proof of their validity, and further it became clear, that none of the two warlord commanders were actually killed during the attack on Nalchik. According to the FSB source, that originally notified the Chechen Society newspaper of Basayev’s demise, those news were obviously “wishful thinking” on behalf of his colleagues.


Here is a reminder for you from the Beslan School Massacre of the handiwork of Shamil Basayev. He is the mastermind behind the Beslan Massacre, The Moscow Theatre Massacre, and several other terrorist attacks in Russia.

This attack today in Nalchik is not surprising, really. The Chechen terrorists have been working to expand their “struggle” outside of Chechnya for some time:

The region has suffered a growing wave of violence apparently connected to Islamic extremists and the Chechen rebels’ fight against Russian forces, which has devastated Chechnya and destabilized the entire Russian Caucasus since the early 1990s. Originally a separatist movement, the rebel struggle has melded increasingly with Islamic extremism and spread far beyond Chechnya’s borders.

Police and security forces have fought pitched battles with militants across the region, and the rebels have employed terrorist methods including suicide bombings and the seizure of more than 1,000 hostages last year in a school in the town of Beslan, about 100 kilometers (60 miles) southeast of Nalchik.

And, reports that Basayev may have been killed in the fighting in Nalchik today is also not so surprising. Shamil Basayev is known to have fought with his forces and was even filmed by a surveillance camera during one of his attacks last year.

This picture taken from security cameras shows Chechen warlord Shamil Basayev inside what he said was an Interior Ministry weapons warehouse in Ingushetia on the night of June 22, 2004 when guerrilla attacks in the North Caucasus republic killed as many as 90 people.

Today’s Chechen attacks were wanting to be a repeat of what was seen as a successful battle by Basayev’s forces last year in Ingushetia. Unfortunately for the Chechen wahhabites today, the Russian forces held the airport. The rest of the terrorists attacking the city ended up getting trapped inside the city limits.

The latest is that there are still a number of terrorists holding hostages in one police station and in one store. There have been no further reports since the sun went down in Russia, but many of the Chechen terrorists are believed to still be hiding in and around the city.

At least, 61 terrorists have been killed in the fighting and 17 others have been captured. 12 police and 13 civilians had been killed and 116 people were injured in the fighting today. The death toll is expected to rise.

The fate of Basayev is not known.

Earlier Posts on Shamil Basayev:
Chechen Terrorist Practice Video Found
Human Rights Packs a Punch
Russia Furious Over ABC’s Basayev Interview
Russia Still Outraged at ABC & “Nightline”
Russia Bans ABC TV!
Terrorist Basayev Rejoins Chechen Cabinet
Chechen Terrorists Attack City, Airport; Hostages Taken!

Photo of author
Jim Hoft is the founder and editor of The Gateway Pundit, one of the top conservative news outlets in America. Jim was awarded the Reed Irvine Accuracy in Media Award in 2013 and is the proud recipient of the Breitbart Award for Excellence in Online Journalism from the Americans for Prosperity Foundation in May 2016. In 2023, The Gateway Pundit received the Most Trusted Print Media Award at the American Liberty Awards.

You can email Jim Hoft here, and read more of Jim Hoft's articles here.

 

Thanks for sharing!