Doha (AsiaNews) –  Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev, former president of Chechnya, died today at a hospital in Doha. This morning Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev was rushed in for emergency medical treatment after a bomb exploded inside his vehicle. Both of his body guards died as a result of the explosion.

The ex-president had been living in exile in the capital of Qatar for nearly 3 years and, according to Russian intelligence, belonged to Osama Bin Laden's Caucasus regional network. His name appeared in 2001, together with that of another leader, Aslan Maskhadov, on a list of the world's most wanted Chechens.   

Russia had asked Qatar several times to extradite Yandarbiyev, who was held responsible for the Chechen invasion of neighboring Daghestan in 1999 and believed to be the head of Chechen Islamic fundamentalism.     

Russia's Public Prosecutor's Office accused him of instigating the massacre which occurred at a Moscow theater in 2002, a charge Yandarbiyev had always rejected, claiming it was legitimate to use any necessary means to obtain Chechnya's independence. (P.B)