The Chechen ConnectionKabul, Afghanistan -- A videotape found in a former al-Qaida residence here appears to buttress Russia's claim that Osama bin Laden's militant Islamic network has been backing rebels in Chechnya.
The tape, obtained by Newsday from a Kabul landlord, features bin Laden and a prominent but shadowy Arab militant who has played a leading role in the Chechen insurgency. It includes footage of ambushes and suicide-bomb attacks, main tactics of the Chechen rebels, and shows bodies of Russian soldiers, some of whom appeared to have been executed.
The landlord said he found the tape after al-Qaida activists, including his tenants, fled this city 10 weeks ago. Afghans have offered many such tapes, documents and computers for sale. Newsday bought the video for $500.
The tape appears to have been produced in 2000 for propaganda or to show potential donors how al-Qaida helps the Chechens in what bin Laden considers part of his holy war against Christian forces.
The video prominently features an Arab fighter named Khattab who has become famous in Russia and Chechnya as one of the key leaders of the current Chechen uprising. With a long, black beard, frizzy hair, black beret and a certain flair for drama, Khattab is a man about whom more is whispered than known. His full name may be Omar Khattab. He is reportedly in his 30s, Saudi- or Jordanian-born and perhaps the son of a wealthy family.
Disparate accounts agree that Khattab joined the Arabs, coordinated by bin Laden, who fought the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan in the 1980s.
Since then, Khattab has been reported fighting among Islamic militants in
Bosnia and Tajikistan.
In the video, Khattab is shown at a meeting of Chechen rebel fighters, introducing two Arab men in combat fatigues. "They are here to help us and they want to teach us,” he says.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and his government have made broad
accusations that al-Qaida has funneled millions of dollars to the
Chechen rebels through Khattab. Russian officials have said Khattab has commanded hundreds or thousands of Arab and other Islamic militant fighters who Russian officials have sometimes said form the bulk of Chechen forces. They have used such claims to help justify Moscow's heavy use of force in Chechnya, which Western governments and human rights groups have often criticized.
Independent analysts and a scattering of evidence suggest that the
scale of Arab and al-Qaida support has been much less. The video found here gives no clues about how much money, weaponry and manpower al-Qaida might have sent to Chechnya.
Much of the footage appears similar to images already available in
Russia and Chechnya, analysts in Moscow said. But the tape's emergence from an al-Qaida residence in Afghanistan "will definitely help to prove that Russia is right to use force in Chechnya,” said Ivan Safranchuk, director of the Moscow office of the Washington- based Center for Defense Information.
The video opens with an image of Afghan mountains as verses from the Quran, the Islamic holy book, scroll up the screen. "The school of al-Qaida is now presented,” a booming, echoing voice announces in Arabic.
In a reed hut, bin Laden carries an AK-47 assault rifle to a lectern. His guards and students wear Arab scarves, or keffiyehs, to hide their faces. Bin Laden sits on a chair and, for about 20 minutes, lectures on how the prophet Muhammad fought infidels and how it is the modern-day duty of Muslims to do the same. He does not mention Chechnya or Russia.
The tape's narrator then announces "attacks on Russian troops,” and images show huge explosions, Chechen fighters firing machine guns and shooting what appear to be already dead Russian soldiers. Close-ups of Russians show bullet wounds in their heads, suggesting that they have been executed.
"God has given permission to fight,” the narrator intones.
A scene titled "Consultation Meeting with Soldiers,” shows Khattab at a table with the unidentified Arabs and with Chechen leaders, including one of his rivals for leadership of the insurgency, the commander Shamil Basayev.
As one of the Arabs offers an inspirational speech, Khattab interprets into fluent Russian. "What is the plan of the Russian government?” the Arab says through Khattab. "The Russian government's plan is to kill all Chechen mujahideen. Before they kill us we will destroy the Russian government.”
The film cuts to a segment titled "Suicide Attacks.” A young man in a living room sits on a couch, his face distorted by an editing
technique. "This young boy loses his life in a suicide attack for his beliefs,” the narrator says.
The youth prays before the video shows a scene it identifies as
Chechnya, south of Gudermes, a Russian-held town. The narrator explains that the following attack killed many Russian soldiers and terrorized all Russian troops.
Seen from across a field, a truck winds its way toward a building.
There is gunfire as the truck accelerates. It erupts in a massive explosion, startling grazing cows and sending up a cloud of flames and smoke.
A similar bombing is shown at what is said to be Argun, near Gudermes. As Russian forces have pinned Chechen rebels into their mountain strongholds during the past two years, the insurgents have made such truck bombings a common tactic, and have struck repeatedly at Gudermes and Argun.
The rebels have shown a propensity for taping their attacks, and
footage similar to that on the video has been shown on Russian television.
To underscore its point that Arabs are helping the Chechens kill
Russians, the tape shows an Arab fighter instructing Chechen guerrillas in a forest clearing, marking out movement on the ground. Moments later, it shows Chechen soldiers ambushing Russian military trucks and armored vehicles.
"Allahu Akbar!” ("God is greatest!”) the Chechens call out in Arabic as they fire their weapons. Not a Russian soldier is spared.
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