Update From Nalchik
It is being reported from Russia that that country's most wanted terrorist, Shamil Basayev, was killed by Russian forces in Thursday’s firefight in the Kabardino-Balkarian capital of Nalchik.
The same source reports:
Rebels were reportedly trying to seize the local airport to hijack a military plane.The source believes the rebels intended to fit it out with explosives and fly it to Moscow. The plane would have stood more chance of passing military identification systems, as it is equipped with a friend-or-foe identification system, the source explained.
But the seizure of the airport failed and the group of rebels led by Basayev was surrounded.
Note that these reports are not confirmed.
Via Power Line News.
UPDATE: The Moscow Times has more, including the most detailed accounts of what happened in Nalchik that I've seen so far. At the moment, it seems that the casualty count is going down rather than up, but that could change.
