CCTV News (Chinese Television) did an interview with a Russian official that said there are ties to the Middle East and al Quaida. It was a quite lengthly interview with the Russian official speaking in Russian and then translated into Chinese.
(Note to tallhappy: Been a while. Best Regards)
Yes. Tass reported this. They were very specific with names of the people involved. I posted it here on another thread. The major papers here are mentioning it briefly in their articles but in broad vague terms, calling "foreign" sponsorship.