Shabalkin: Znamenskoye terrorist act was ordered by Maskhadov

The main version of the terrorist act committed in administrative buildings in Znamenskoye, Chechnya, is that it was ordered by separatist leader Aslan Maskhadov, reported Ilya Shabalkin, an official spokesman for the Regional Operational Headquarters for co-ordinating the counter-terrorist operation in the North Caucasus.

"All terrorist acts committed on Chechen territory are financed by international terrorist organisations, including Al-Qaeda," said the spokesman. "Maskhadov has long become a puppet in the hands of international terrorists and does everything they tell him to." Moreover, "Maskhadov was recently heard uttering threats about impending terrorist acts on the republic's territory," stressed Shabalkin.