Jordani-born Terrorist Hattab Remains In Chechnya

Jordani-born terrorist Hattab has never left Chechnya, said Colonel General Reznichenko, First Deputy Director of the Russian Federal Frontier Service. According to him, Hattab is still in command of Chechen terrorists staging terror acts and attacking federal forces in the Chechen Republic. He also said that not so long ago he read Hattab's deciphered routine conversations, intercepted by the ECM (electronic counter-measures) service. Hattab's call sign is "Abu-Salekh" or just "Salekh", but he speaks on the air quite rarely. "He and other leaders of Chechen separatists seem to be hiding in the mountainous part of Chechnya, with their negotiations being always intercepted by the Russian Federal Security Service's and Defence Ministry's ECM units," the General said. Speaking about a possibility that Chechen separatists will attempt to break-through from Chechnya to Georgia via the Chechen sector of the Russo-Georgian border, General Reznichenko said Russian border guards were exchanging information with their Georgian colleagues as to the border developments. "Such attempts haven't been made yet, but we believe that sooner or later militants will try to break through to Georgia via mountainous passes and difficult terrain," Reznichenko said.