Translated material
The spider awaits the gallows
Americans caught the killer of Russian diplomats
The trial of an al-Qaeda terrorist who admitted complicity in the attack, kidnapping and murder of five Russian embassy employees in June 2006 has begun in Baghdad. This was announced by the representative of the US command in Iraq, Major General William Caldwell. According to the American, the militant's name is Umar Wahdallah Dad, also known as Abu Nur and Spider.It may well turn out that this is the same terrorist whose capture Vladimir Putin has been seeking from the Russian special services for almost a year. The death of embassy employees in Baghdad last year shocked Russia, and the president ordered the special services to find the killers . The Russian National Anti-Terrorism Committee took upon itself the coordination of actions in this matter, announcing a reward of $10 million for information that would help carry out the president’s instructions. Now it is unclear to whom this money will be paid - since the Americans caught the terrorist, they have every right to claim a reward.
Coalition forces arrested Spider on December 19, 2006. During interrogations, the Americans “learned a lot about the goals and methods of his organization.” The indictment states that Dad personally killed two Russians, which was filmed by militants. Caldwell said the trial is being conducted "in accordance with Iraqi anti-terrorism laws." This means that Dada will be hanged if found guilty.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said yesterday that Moscow is “closely monitoring the trial of a terrorist who participated in the kidnapping and murder of Russian diplomats in Iraq.” “We are actively cooperating to obtain maximum information concerning not only this particular person, but also the circumstances of the kidnapping and murder of our diplomats,” said Anatoly Safonov, special representative of the Russian President for international cooperation in the fight against terrorism and transnational organized crime.
Charge d'Affaires of Russia in Iraq Valery Pospelov told Vremya Novostey: “We, diplomats, are specific people and would like to operate on specific things, and therefore the information we receive is double-checked, especially since this topic is very painful for all Russians and all sorts of speculation should be excluded here.”
On June 3, 2006, a group of terrorists attacked a car near the embassy in which there were Third Secretary Fyodor Zaitsev, guards Vitaly Titov and Oleg Fedoseev, driver Anatoly Smirnov and cook Rinat Agliulin. Vitaly Titov died in the ensuing shootout. The rest were taken to an unknown direction. In the following days of painful uncertainty, when the bandits did not make themselves known, the Russian Foreign Ministry expressed hope for a better outcome, since Moscow had always condemned the invasion of Iraq. But on June 19, the Iraqi branch of al-Qaeda, then called the Majlis Shura al-Mujahidin (Mujahideen Advisory Council), via the Internet put forward an absurd ultimatum to Russia demanding the withdrawal of troops from Chechnya within 48 hours.
On June 25, the bandits posted a video of the massacre of hostages on the Internet. Two had their heads cut off in some room, the third was shot in the yard, it was unclear how the fourth died. “Events for our people immediately developed according to the worst scenario. They fell into the hands of real scumbags. The liberation operation was complicated by the elimination by the Americans on June 7, four days after the capture of the Russians, of the leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi , and the liquidation in Chechnya of the separatist leader Abdul-Khalim Sadulayev on June 17, Vremya Novostei reported at the time. » Russian official who dealt with this problem.
In an official confirmation of the death of Russians on June 27 last year, the Russian Foreign Ministry recalled that coalition troops, in accordance with the decision of the UN Security Council, are responsible “for ensuring security in Iraq, including for the protection of foreign diplomatic missions.” Moscow called on the Iraqi authorities and the command of the multinational forces to “make every effort to ensure that none of those involved in the crime against our citizens escapes fair retribution.” Terrorists were called “nonhumans without honor, conscience and faith.”
The next day, June 28, President Vladimir Putin ordered Russian intelligence services to “take all measures to find and destroy the criminals who committed the murder of Russian diplomats in Iraq.” Putin made this statement at a meeting in Moscow with Prince of Saudi Arabia Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. The President said then that “Russia will be grateful to all friends for providing any information on the criminals.”
On July 21, 2006, by decree of the President of Russia, Rinat Agliulin, Fyodor Zaitsev, Anatoly Smirnov, Vitaly Titov and Oleg Fedoseev were posthumously awarded the Order of Courage for “dedication in the performance of official duty in difficult military-political conditions.” The remains of the victims have not yet been found.