Turkish Authorities Arrest Alleged Chechen Mastermind Behind Atatürk Airport Attack

Christof Lehmann (nsnbc) : Turkish police detained thirteen people suspected of links to the terrorist attack at Istanbul’s Atatürk Airport Tuesday evening. Among the detained is the alleged Chechen mastermind, Ahmed Chataev, who has been wanted by Russia on terrorism charges for years without being extradited from Austria, the EU, Ukraine of Georgia.

Ahmed Chataev_Russia_ChenyaTurkish police detained 13 suspects including three foreign nationals, suspected of links to the suicide attack at Atatürk International Airport. 44 were killed and another 239 were injured in the shootout between the attackers and the subsequent triple suicide bombing.

The arrests were made during raids at 16 separate places in Istanbul. Turkish police and security services stated that the investigation is still underway, but investigators are looking into the very probable possibility that the attack was linked to the so-called Islamic State (ISIS, ISIL, Daesh), and involved foreign nationals.

Among the detained is the Russian – Chechen national Ahmed Chataev (a.k.a. Akhmed Shishkani) who is believed to be the mastermind behind the deadly attack on Turkey’s most busy international airport. Chataev has on several occasions avoided extradition to Russia on terrorism related charges because he had refugee status in Austria.

Doku Umarov, here calling for the disruption of the Winter Olympic Games in February, at any cost.

Doku Umarov, here calling for the disruption of the Winter Olympic Games in February, at any cost.

Chataev, who fought in the second Chechen War between 1999 and 2000 was known for close ties to and a spokesperson for Doku Umarov and leader of the so-called Caucasian Emirate. Umarov, who among others called for attacks against the Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia, was killed in 2013.  His death was confirmed in April of 2014.

The Deputy Chairman of the Russian Investigative Committee, Andrey Przhezdomsky, said about Chataev that he was assigned a leading role in training extremists that would then commit terrorist attacks in the Russian Federation and Western Europe. Przhezdomsky said earlier this year that Chataev also commands a unit in Syria that primarily consists of immigrants from the North Caucasus.

Wanted in the Russian Federation since 2003 Chataev received refugee status in Austria. Missing one arm, Chataev alleged that he lost the limb due to torture by Russian officials. Other reports suggest that he lost the arm in combat during the second Chechen War.

Istanbul's Atatürk International Airport.

Istanbul’s Atatürk International Airport.

In 2008 Chataev and several other Chechen nationals attracted the unwanted attention of Swedish police in the town of Trelleborg. Police found Kalashnikov assault rifles, ammunition as well as explosives in Chataev’s car. He spent one year in a Swedish prison and was subsequently released.

In 2010 Chataev was again arrested; This time in Ukraine. Police found Chataev in possession of a mobile phone that contained demolition technique instructions and photos of people who had been killed in an explosion.

The Russian Federation requested that the Ukraine would extradite Chataev because he was wanted on terrorism-related charges. However, Amnesty International campaigned for Chataev, reminding Ukrainian authorities that he had refugee status.

The European Court of Human Rights, which has “advisory status only”, ruled against the extradition of Chataev, claiming that he could risk an unfair trial and that he would be at risk of torture and ill-treatment.

He avoided extradition again in 2011 when he attracted attention while crossing the Austrian – Bulgarian border. Chataev reportedly stayed in Georgia between 2012 and 2015 where he allegedly also joined terrorist groups and served a prison sentence on terrorism-related charges.

In 2015 he left Georgia for Syria where he joined the self-proclaimed Islamic State (a.k.a. ISIS, ISIL and Daesh). He was finally added to the U.S. Justice Department’s terrorist list in 2015 for his alleged role in recruiting extremists.

Chataev has also been linked to the so-called Yarmouk Battalion. The battle group played a major role in bringing the civil war into the largest Palestinian refugee camp in the suburbs of the Syrian capital Damascus. It is noteworthy that Chechen separatist networks have been supported in part infiltrated, and in part managed by western intelligence communities for years.

CH/_ nsnbc 01.07.2016

Source Article from http://nsnbc.me/2016/07/01/turkish-authorities-arrest-alleged-chechen-mastermind-behind-ataturk-airport-attack/

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