Shamil Basayev-Chechnya's Bin Laden (2)

Shamil Basayev became involved in the nearby Dagestan War after he lost
his bid for president. This prompted Vladimir Putin to launch the
Second Chechen War, which successfully reclaimed Grozny for the
Russians. Since then, Chechnya has been officially under Russian
control, but there is still a strong insurgency.

In 2003,
Shamil's subordinate launched an attack on a theater in Moscow. 850
hostages were taken and demands were made (the Chechens wanted an
immediate Russian withdrawal from Chechnya). After a few days of
negotiation, Putin allowed the Russian Spetsnaz to enter. The Spetsnaz
pumped a sleeping agent into the theater and knocked many of the
terrorists and hostages asleep. The Spetsnaz then entered and killed
all of the terrorists. Afterwards, many of the hostages got sick from
the gas.

In 2004, Shamil's men launched an attack on a school in
Beslan. 1200 teachers, parents, and children were taken hostage and
held in atrocious conditions for several days. Eventually, the Russians
raided the school. Many civilian casualties resulted from the fire that
resulted and approximately 1/4 of the hostages were killed.

In 2006, Shamil was killed (probably by Russian security forces).

For more information:
Theage.com
http://fmso.leavenworth.army.mil/documents/shamil/shamil.htm
http://www.time.com/time/europe/magazine/2002/1104/cover/story.html
http://www.caucasus.dk/publication1.htm
http://www.smallwarsjournal.com/documents/wolvesden.htm
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/war/chechnya2.htm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3624136.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3627406.stm

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