The demise of a terror master & the role of his terrorists in Saddam's Iraq

The good news today is that Chechen terror master, Shamil Basayev, has been reportedly killed. This account by the BBC, while (very) far from exhaustive, gives a concise account of the report of Basayev's demise and his terrorist operations in recent years.

Basayev's terrorist organization is connected to al Qaeda in myriad ways, too many to count here. And, interestingly enough, it should be remembered that the Chechen group fought alongside Saddam's forces in the opening weeks of the Iraq war. As Robert T. McLean pointed out in an article for Front Page Magazine:

Chechens have also gone to Iraq to fight Americans and our allies. [A] British intelligence source told the Sunday Express: “These are not just people dreaming of a homeland, they are key global terrorist figures.” The source added: “British forces in the Gulf during the initial phase of the fighting were finding Chechen bodies among the fanatics fighting along Saddam Hussein’s troops. A number of the foreign fighters confronting our troops in Basra have turned out to be Chechens.” Thus, Chechens are clearly gaining experience in guerrilla warfare and terrorist operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and those that survive will bring their skills back to Chechnya.

Imagine that. Al Qaeda-linked terrorists fighting side by side with Saddam's forces in the opening weeks of the war.

I'll have more on the Chechen role in Iraq later on (there are some very interesting pieces of information on this), if I have time.