GROZNY. July 3 (Interfax-AVN) - A militant who was killed on Thursday evening had the task of organizing the assassination of Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov, the Chechen interior minister said on Friday.
The task had been set to the militant, Said-Selim Abdulkadyrov, "by the Arab Muhammad, who is an ideologist and financier of the bandit underground and has close ties to Al Qaeda," Ruslan Alkhanov said at a conference with police officials, citing intelligence.
"According to information we have, the criminal who has been liquidated was to find co-perpetrators and organize a terrorist attack with the use of saltpeter during a meeting between the president of the republic, Ramzan Kadyrov, and members of the population on one of the squares in [the Chechen capital] Grozny," Alkhanov said.
The minister said Abdulkadyrov had had on him an audio tape with a message from Muhammad that, "among other things, tells of where and how to plan the attempt on the life of the leader of the republic."
Alkhanov said police were looking for others who might have been involved in the alleged assassination plot.