FSB CONFIRMS DEATH OF SHAMIL BASAYEV

C O N F I D E N T I A L MOSCOW 007293 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/10/2016 TAGS: MOPS MARR PGOV PINR RS SUBJECT: FSB CONFIRMS DEATH OF SHAMIL BASAYEV Classified By: DCM Daniel A. Russell. Reason 1.4 (b, d) ¶1. (C) The Federal Security Service (FSB) confirmed to LEGATT at 1715 local that Chechen rebel leader Shamil Basayev was killed in an operation in the early hours of July 10. LEGATT's FSB contacts, who had minutes earlier been unaware of the reports, refused to give further details. ¶2. (C) According to the Russian press, FSB chief Patrushev July 10 reported the death of Basayev to President Putin, who congratulated him. Press reports suggest that the death was the result of an FSB operation in Ingushetia to forestall a planned terrorist attack on the eve of the G-8 Summit. There have been numerous previous reports of Basayev's death. They have not, however, gotten to the level of the head of the FSB informing the President. ¶3. (C) Journalists and others in the region have heard wildly varying reports. The UN's security service heard from its contacts that an air attack on a house resulted in the death of Basayev and one other fighter. Journalists in Ingushetia, however, report that there was an enormous explosion in the early hours of July 10, and that it seemed to involve a car and truck in the vicinity of Magas. None has seen a body yet. The official Ingushetia website posted a report at 17:04 local stating that an explosion 2 kilometers from the village Ekazhevo left a burning truck and four corpses. One of the corpses resembled Shamil Basayev, but accurate identification was possible only in the morning. Two of the other corpses were identified as Ingush. "Thus, Shamil Basayev died as a result of the spontaneous explosion of a truck loaded with explosives." ¶4. (C) A Presidential Administration source noted that the circle of support for Basayev had been narrowing in recent months, and in the context of Chechnya "that is death." He predicted this would be the "end of terrorism" in Chechnya. He noted that Basayev's favorite expression was "let the world burn with a great fire," and implied that those who succeeded Basayev would not have that ruthlessness. ¶5. (C) Comment: The report of Basayev's death is suspiciously good p.r. for Putin in light of the upcoming G-8 Summit. If the report turns out to be true, the anti-Russian insurgency has indeed suffered a great -- perhaps fatal -- blow. But given the complexities of the nationalist/jihadist movements in the North Caucasus, and the difficulties Russia has had in finding non-force solutions to pervasive problems there, "the end of terrorism" could still be some years in the future. BURNS