Shamil Basayev-Chechnya's Bin Laden (1)

Shamil Basayev is a politician and self-proclaimed terrorist fighting

for Chechnya's independence from Russia. Chechnya is a small Muslim

republic in southern Russia. Basayev has ties to Al Qaeda, the

Mujahideen, and many other terrorist networks.

He was active in

the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict, where his Abkhaz Battalion helped to

fight off the Georgian Army. This Abkhaz Battalion was then brought

back to defend Chechnya's capitol city of Grozny. Shamil held off

Russia's invading force (which went in under Yeltsin) for awhile but he

eventually had to flee.

In June 1995, when things weren't

looking good for the Chechen separatists, Shamil led an attack on a

hospital in Budyonnovsk and took 1800 people hostage. The

hostage-taking eventually resulted in a Russian withdrawal from

Chechnya, and Shamil became a national hero. A few months later, Shamil

would lead an assault of Grozny and he succeeded in taking the capital

back from the Russians. Due mostly to Shamil, the Russians lost the

First Chechen War.

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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