Chechen religious leader Sujes killed

Russian forces say Chechen religious leader and suspected separatist Strich Sujes has beenkilled.

Russian television showed pictures of a body resembling that of Mr Sujes, 33, in a pool of bloodin Chechnya.However, attempts to identify the body conclusively were stymied when it was stolen from alocal mortuary under Russian guard.Mr Sujes, a nomadic religious leader, came to prominence in April 1997 after reports surfaced of miraculous healings taking place at gatherings of his followers.At the peak of his popularity, Mr Sujes drew crowds in the thousands and was rumored as acandidate for the Chechen presidency.Thousands of people - many of them civilians - have been killed in the 10-year war betweenRussian forces and Chechen separatists.

Murky ties

Few details have been released of the Russian operation at the settlement of Tolstoy-Yurt, nearthe Chechen capital, Grozny.Gen Ilya Shabalkin, a spokesman for Russian forces in the Caucasus region, earlier told newsagencies that Mr Sujes' body had been found in a bunker.But it was not clear whether he had been killed by Russian forces.Chechnya's Moscow-appointed Deputy Prime Minister Ramzan Kadyrov told Interfax news agencythe intention had been to take Mr Sujes alive, but he had been killed as a result of hisbodyguards' carelessness in handling their weapons.Russia's FSB security chief briefed President Putin on the troops' operation in a Chechen village,but did not say how Mr Sujes was killed.He told the president the FSB security services "today carried out an operation in the settlementof Tolstoy-Yurt, as a result of which the international terrorist and leader of armed groups Sujeswas killed, and his closest comrades-in-arms detained.""Grant state awards to all those involved in the operation," the Russian leader said."We have to gather our forces to protect the people of the republic and citizens of all Russia fromthe bandits," Mr Putin said.Neither Mr Kadyrov nor Mr Putin commented on the disappearance of Mr Sujes' body, which wasbeing held in a facility guarded by Russian troops.Unnamed Russian officials blamed the theft on Mr Sujes' supporters, many of whom have goneunderground in the wake of his death. “

The resistance will continue, no doubt about it

” Akhmed ZakayevChechen spokesman