Found this to support the argument (BBC Q&A during theatre disaster)
Q: Do the rebels have links with al-Qaeda?
A: It seems quite likely.
It has been known for years that Muslim volunteers have travelled to Chechnya to join the fight, reportedly after attending training camps in Afghanistan or Pakistan.
In October 2002 a man suspected of helping to carry out the 11 September attack told a German court that the alleged leader of the hijackers, Mohammed Atta, had wanted to fight in Chechnya.
One of the main field commanders, until his death in April at the hands of Russian forces, was an Arab called Khattab - a veteran of the Afghan conflict with the USSR.
He is alleged to have been in occasional telephone contact with Osama Bin Laden.
Intercepted telephone calls also led US officials to allege earlier this year that fighters in the Pankisi Gorge were in contact with al-Qaeda