§ Mr. BluntTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the extent of Chechen involvement in al-Qaeda; and if he will make a statement. [64456]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienThere are numerous reports of links between al-Qaeda and some groups fighting in Chechnya. Emir Khattab, the recently assassinated leader of the Arab mujaheddin in Chechnya, fought in Afghanistan and was reputedly a close friend of UBL. Shamil Basayev, an ethnic Chechen who shares UBL's extreme brand of Islam, underwent advanced combat training in a camp in Afghanistan. However, the nature of the al-Qaeda organisation makes it impossible accurately to assess the full extent of Chechen involvement.