Posted on 10/07/2001 2:34:20 AM PDT by Pericles
Saturday October 6, 10:07 PM
13 militants extradited by Georgia jailed in Russia
MOSCOW, Oct 6 (AFP) - Thirteen rebel fighters extradited by Georgia to Russia to face charges of murder and terrorism have been placed in a Russian intelligence service detention center, the Kremlin announced Saturday.
The office of Sergei Yastrzhembsky, aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin for Chechnya, said the militants were suspected of having taken part in the bombings of apartment blocks in Moscow and Volgodonsk in 1999.
Those bombings prompted Moscow to pour troops into the breakaway republic of Chechnya, launching a self-declared "anti-terrorist" campaign to put down a separatist insurgency.
An official at Russia's intelligence service (FSB), Alexander Zdanovich, told Echo of Moscow radio that the suspects were part of the Achimet Gachiyayev group, thought to be behind the attacks.
Yastrzhembsky's office hailed the extradition as a "positive sign in relations between Russia and Georgia."
Georgia on Saturday extradited the 13 militants, who were arrested in June as they were trying to reach Chechnya with weapons, the interior ministry said earlier in Tbilisi.
Georgian prosecutors agreed after Moscow sent proof to authorities in Tbilisi that the 13 suspects had committed serious crimes in Russia, the ministry said.
The rebel fighters allegedly attempted to enter Georgia from the Russian republic of Kabardino-Balkarskaya, in a bid to subsequently cross into Chechnya, but they were stopped on June 8 by Georgian border guards.
Moscow has long accused Tbilisi of harboring Chechen rebels on its soil, especially in the north of the former Soviet republic, which borders Chechnya.
Earlier this week, Moscow rejected an offer by Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze to mediate in the conflict, saying it was an "internal problem".
In the rebel republic, Russian authorities said Saturday they had killed 19 rebels in the previous 24 hours during a series of special operations in the south and southeast of the republic.
ITAR-TASS reported that federal positions were hit some 15 times, but Russian military sources did not report any losses.
mt-ig-via/sst/jmy
The last time I felt this pleased was when they fried John Wayne Gacey's worthless hide. While these terrorist are in Russia, I'll be thinking about the 9 soldiers from Perm captured last year.
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