In order to adequately respond to the enemy, you need to know him as fully as possible, in detail and multifaceted. In combat conditions, the possession of the necessary information is not yet a guarantee of victory, but already the key to it.

Man without a past

In 2002, the earthly journey of one of the most dangerous Chechen terrorists, hiding under the name Khattab. What was the name of this person in fact - it is not known exactly. May be, Habib Abd al-Rahman, maybe, Samer Saleh as-Suwaylem or somehow else - it is not known for sure to this day. He is believed to be from Saudi Arabia, but possibly from Jordan, Pakistan or even Yemen. He probably went to college in the US. In any case, he was well educated, knew at least three foreign languages, including Russian. He had serious knowledge in military affairs. His biography is so confused and surrounded by myths that Scheherazade could well tell stories about his adventures for another thousand and one nights. Especially those that were before the arrival of Khattab in Chechnya in 1995.

It would be a mistake to present Khattab as a banal adventurer. This man learned the covenant very well Winston Churchill: "Truth is so precious that it must be guarded by bodyguards of lies." Anyone who is hiding from the authorities knows that any person is easiest to find through his contacts. The past follows a person like a tail, and it can be caught by this tail. But what about a person who has no past? For special services, he is a mystery, a myth, a ghost.

Khattab was extremely cautious. He had an excellent flair and an extensive network of informers, including those in power and law enforcement agencies. The brief and capacious manual on guerrilla warfare written by him for the Mujahideen shows a high professional in his field. He was an ideological enemy of Russia, fought with the Shuravi back in Afghanistan, was a fanatical Islamist radical who sees the meaning of life in a holy war. If this knowledgeable and talented commander were on our side, he probably would have become a hero, but Khattab was an enemy, dangerous, bloodthirsty and merciless. And besides, through the "Black Arab", as they called him in Chechnya, there was a financial flow from Saudi Arabia - dollar fuel for the war in the Caucasus. Khattab had to be found and destroyed. No matter what. Wherever he is.

Information about the death of Khattab appeared in the media at least ten times. Repeatedly, when the "emir of terrorists" needed to rest, he effectively "died" in order to resurrect no less effectively after a while. The invulnerability of the dodgy terrorist got on the nerves of the entire personnel of the Russian troops of the North Caucasus Military District. He seemed to sneer at the attempts of the army and special services to catch or destroy him.

Carrier pigeons of the Chechen kite

Surrounded by bodyguards, out of control of anyone in Chechnya, Khattab remained a very difficult target. Taught by experience Dzhokhar Dudayev, tracked by a mobile phone signal, he did not use this connection. All orders were given to them through trusted people, all communication with foreign sponsors was a baton. Packages with correspondence were delivered from one base to another. Not a single “postman” knew anyone except those with whom he had to communicate directly, but he himself was under the covert supervision of an insurer who was supposed to let you know if something happened to the messenger. At the same time, each of the participants in this “postal” network tried not to attract the attention of local authorities in any way. The messenger could even cooperate with the Russian command and ensure peace in a particular village - the main thing is that he should be able to quickly and without interference deliver the package at the right time to the right place.

In addition, several different “fake letters” were simultaneously sent from the foreign center, which went through spare chains, but did not reach the “addressee”. A trusted breaker agent would receive them, examine them for screening, and destroy them. With this, enemy intelligence sprayed the attention of counterintelligence officers, and at the same time checked the reliability of their postal "path".

Alas, any system based on the actions of living people is unreliable. At some point, when a high reward was placed on the head of the "Brigadier General of Ichkeria", a man was found in the chain who agreed to help in the elimination of Khattab. Some believe that there was a purely financial motivation here, but do not forget that Khattab was a manic killer fanatic, and many people even in his environment had very serious personal claims against the Black Arab.

Be that as it may, they managed to find a weak link in the chain - and even ensure that it becomes the final one in front of the "amir" hiding in the mountains. When the instructions from Saudi Arabia arrived, the agent gave the signal that Moscow had long been waiting for. A unique specialist in poisons was brought to Grozny by a special aircraft. He was given only one night to work - in the morning a messenger was supposed to come from the mountains for a package. The task assigned by the administration to the "special purpose" chemist was completely non-trivial. The envelope had to be treated with a potent contact poison in such a way that it would work in two or three days (the agent and his family should have remained beyond suspicion), leave no marks on the paper, and not be felt by a delicate canine scent. Cautious Khattab, fearing poisoning, whenever possible let the dog sniff the letter. As subsequent events showed, the work was done perfectly.

Amir from Iblis

The package did not arouse suspicion, was delivered to the addressee, read and burned. Further, as always in such cases, Khattab began to quickly change the location of his camp. The old axiom of a saboteur says: "Stopping is death!". But this time it was not destined to overtake the eyeless "Black Arab".

The operatives are lucky. Leaving the parking lot, the bodyguards of the “brigadier general” stumbled upon early spring morels. With food, the group was tense, and therefore the mushrooms were immediately put into action. So, when the poison began to act, the followers of Khattab decided that among the morels they missed a toadstool. Three days later, on March 20, 2002, the "Black Arab" died in agony.

His bodyguards would still believe in the "mushroom" version, if the rest, all those who at least briefly held the envelope in their hands, did not follow the "amir" in the coming days. The dose of poison they received was much less, but nonetheless absolutely lethal. In total, five people died.

Among them was one who agreed to help destroy the Saudi ghoul. In order to achieve the goal, like a real warrior, he sacrificed his life.

Life in Chechnya began to improve.

EMIR IBN AL KHTTAB

Emir ibn Al Khattab (according to various versions of Hottab, Khattab, Khettab), he is also "Ahmed one-armed", he is also "Black Arab", born around 1963, height 176 - 178 cm, native and citizen of Jordan. Densely built, swarthy, wears a beard, long curly hair, 1-2 phalanges are missing on all fingers of the right hand (according to other sources, it has only two fingers on the right hand, while one phalanx is missing on the index), currently resides in the village of Vedeno.
Khattab comes from a wealthy family, has seven brothers and many relatives. One of the sisters lives in the USA (state of New Jersey), where she allegedly runs a gun shop.
In an interview with the Groznensky Rabochiy newspaper, he said that he was from Arabia, his parents were alive, he had seven brothers and many relatives. He dreamed of studying in the USA and becoming a physicist or mathematician, but more than nine years ago he went to fight in Afghanistan, then in Tajikistan, and a little later - in Chechnya. The reason for his appearance in the Caucasus, Khattab called "the invasion of Russian infidels and the Jihad caused by this invasion."
He has several wives, one of whom is a native of the Shali settlement. Another wife, a Dargin by nationality, a native of the village of Kadar, Buynaksky district of the Republic of Dagestan. Setting data and place of residence of other family ties are unknown.
Khattab and his family permanently reside in the village of Vedeno on Aslambek Sheripov Street in house 1. There are always 2-3 guards from among foreign mercenaries in the courtyard of the house.
Major of the Armed Forces of the CRI. He was awarded the highest military awards of Chechnya: two orders of "Honor of the Nation" and the gold medal "Valiant Warrior". Since 1988, he took an active part in the hostilities against the Soviet troops in Afghanistan, then fought in Tajikistan on the side of the opposition. He arrived in Chechnya in 1994 as part of a group of people from the Middle East.
According to some reports, Khattab has been taking part in various military operations for 17 years, including in Afghanistan on the side of the Mujahideen, in the Persian Gulf countries (presumably in Iraq) and against Israel, he was an instructor in the camps of the Afghan Mujahideen in Pakistan.
Commander of the detachment of foreign mercenaries "Jamaat Islami" in the Chechen Republic. An experienced and well-trained terrorist fighter, owns all types of small arms. He has a reputation as a mine-blasting specialist. He personally trains militants subordinate to him. Khattab can use white Niva, KamAZ, ZIL cars for transportation.
Khattab is very religious, he considers Chechnya "the land of Allah" and is ready to fight until "not a single infidel remains" on it. He pretends to be a Pakistani, with others he explains, as a rule, in very bad Russian. He has unquestioned authority among subordinates who unquestioningly carry out any of his orders. Unpretentious. He is revered by militants as a fair and caring commander.
It is distinguished by particular cruelty towards prisoners, including the wounded. When reprisals against those captured, he prefers to use edged weapons. He sneered at the corpses of Russian servicemen, cutting off their ears, noses, and scalping them. He records all these actions on video and film in order to demonstrate his practical activities to attract funds from Muslim foreign organizations and funds of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Jordan, and Turkey.
Periodically, these videos, having shaved off his beard, under the cover of documents of a journalist from one of the Arab newspapers, he took out abroad (during the trip he had a mustache). He returned from abroad with a large amount of money in foreign currency.
Khattab's appeal to Sheikh Al-Fadel Muhammad Ash-Shiha (Saudi Arabia) was recorded with a request to allocate funds, in particular, for the purchase of ammunition and the arrangement of militant training camps.
The attack on a checkpoint of federal troops near the village of Kharachoy in October 1995, an attack on a convoy of federal troops near the village of Yaryshmardy, the capture of 28 internal troops in the village of Shuani and other major sabotage actions were carried out under the direct supervision of Khattab. In addition, in order to put pressure on Aslan Maskhadov, who went to sign peace with Russia, on his instructions, an explosion was carried out on the way of the column with the CRI delegation.
According to some information, in the summer of 1996, Khattab was preparing to carry out an extremist action against the head of the Chechen Republic, Doku Zavgaev, a terrorist act was planned, or, if possible, his abduction.
The Khattab detachment, consisting of mercenaries with experience in combat operations in the so-called hot spots, participated in a number of terrorist actions both on the territory of the Chechen Republic and the regions of Russia adjacent to it. A terrorist act against doctors, members of the humanitarian mission of the Red Cross, on December 18, 1996, in the village of Novye Atagi, was committed by militants of Khattab.
The main base of Khattab is located on the territory of a former pioneer camp near the village of Serzhen-Yurt on the left bank of the Khulhulau River, where seven training camps are concentrated. Of these, five are under the general leadership of Khattab, the other two are supervised by Shirvani and Shamil Basayev. The five Khattab camps are located at a short distance from each other and are named after the leaders of these camps:

1. The central camp (aka the headquarters of Khattab), where about 100 foreign mercenaries and a small number of Chechen fighters are concentrated.
2. "Abujafar camp" - training in the methods of guerrilla warfare and the use of all types of small arms.
3. "Yakub-camp" - training in mastering the skills of the art of war, as well as the use of heavy weapons in battle.
4. "Abubakar-camp" - training in carrying out sabotage and terrorist actions in the rear of the "enemy".
5. "Davgat-camp" - psychological and ideological training through a deep study of the Koran, the assimilation of Islamic dogmas.
The educational process is well established, Khattab only inspects it.

Most of the cadets are from Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and other republics of the former USSR (about 2000 people). About 50-60 foreigners live permanently in the camp, from whom Khattab confiscated their passports and who, even if they wish, cannot go back. These are mercenaries from the countries of the Near and Middle East. In the camp there are constant round-the-clock classes with daily practice shooting. The trainees are well provided with food.
In addition, in the village of Kharachoy, in the school-madrasah created by Khattab, there are 80 people, mostly Avars and Dargins. Arab mercenaries teach at the madrasah, and preference is given to the reactionary Muslim trend of Wahhabism. In addition, physical and military training classes are held with students. The school is funded from Saudi Arabia.
Khattab reportedly planned to move the school to a training center being built in a former holiday home on Lake Kezenoy-Am. The number of students can be increased up to 300 people. An integral part of the training of militants is the so-called "Islamic Institute of the Caucasus", located in Serzhen-Yurt, which is actually a branch of the international extremist organization "Muslim Brotherhood". The main task of this organization is to plant among the peoples of Chechnya and other republics of the North Caucasus the most radical Islamic movement - Wahhabism, as well as to implement the idea of ​​​​creating a single Islamic state in this region "from the Caspian to the Black Sea."
To achieve their goals, Islamic fundamentalists have developed and are implementing a large-scale program (called the "Islamic Call") to create paramilitary units on the territory of the North Caucasian republics, modeled on the Islamic Taliban movement, which include the so-called "Islamic fighters" who have undergone military and religious training.
The "Caucasus Islamic Institute" also has a military training camp "Sayd Ibn Waqas". At present, the institute has 40 teachers from among the Arabs and Afghans and 160 students, the training program, which is based on the study of the Arabic language and religious disciplines, is designed for two months. Practically all students, among whom, along with citizens of the republics of the North Caucasus, there are also representatives of Tatarstan, simultaneously undergo military training in the Said Ibn Abu Wakas camp.
Khattab directly obeyed the instructions of Zelemkhan Yandarbiyev, is closely acquainted and regularly in contact with Shamil Basayev, taught the latter the specifics of the war in the mountains, explosives, methods and methods of sabotage and terrorist activities. Basayev is his close friend, so he organized Khattab's marriage to a Chechen woman (from the village of Vedeno), recommended him to the bride's parents.

The FSB vigilantly monitors publications on free Internet platforms. After the statement of the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin that The Internet originated as a CIA project, the Russian authorities have repeatedly demanded that the Wikipedia online encyclopedia delete certain pages.

But something remains outside the attention of the special services.

Kavkaz.Realii got acquainted with the Arabic and English versions of some articles on Wikipedia.

"Star" Shamil Basayev

A participant in the Chechen wars, Shamil Basayev, is marked in the Arabic Wikipedia with a five-pointed star: - in the category of "chosen ones." Even his colleague Khattab did not receive such attention, although he was an Arab by origin.

Despite the fact that Basayev was included in the lists of terrorists not only by Russia, but also by the US State Department, the European Union and even the UN, neither in the English nor in the Arabic version he is called a terrorist ( English-speaking authors they speak of him as a "Chechen armed Islamist", "the leader of the Chechen movement", Arabic-speakers - as a "Chechen military commander, a participant in the wars for the independence of Chechnya from Russia"). But in Russian article already in the first sentence it says: "Chechen terrorist."

The Arabic article ends with a listing of Basayev's posthumous awards.

Khattab Phenomenon

A native of Saudi Arabia, Khattab is not called a terrorist in both of the considered foreign language versions. In English he is a "Chechen field commander and mujahid of the Chechen wars." In an Arabic article Khattab, despite the absence of a "star", is presented as a personality worthy of study.

"Khattab is considered one of the symbols of the Arab Mujahideen who fought in Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Dagestan, Chechnya. Interpol put him on the international wanted list under pressure from Russia," says a large Arabic-language article with a lot of photos and details of his childhood. It is told how his father took little Khattab to the mountains every week, where he taught courage.

The phenomenon of "Jihadist tactics of Khattab" is considered separately. The "Spiritual heritage" section describes in detail the "style of Khattab". And on the territory of Russia, this is available in the public domain.

"Unifier" Doku Umarov

But the late leader of the "Caucasus Emirate" Doku Umarov is called a terrorist in both the Russian and English versions of Wikipedia. "For several years, Umarov was the main terrorist leader in Russia," write the authors of the English articles.

But in an Arabic article about Doku Umarov speak more with respect than with condemnation. He is not called there either a terrorist, or an Islamist, or a militant. He is "the first ruler of the Islamic Emirate of the Caucasus". With sympathy, the authors of the article describe how Umarov tried to unite the ranks of the local Mujahideen fighting against Russian troops.

"Despite the fact that his announcement of the Emirate met with resistance, this did not affect the operations of the Mujahideen in the Caucasus, and Emir Abu-Usman Doku Umarov ( Abu-Usman - the second name of Doku Umarov - approx. "Kavkaz.Realities") made a trip to the provinces of the Caucasus from January 15 to January 24, 2008, to get acquainted with the situation of the Mujahideen in winter, to find out if they are ready for spring and the coming summer," the authors of the Wikipedia article conclude. The last edit is dated May 20, 2017 .

Buried! underground

Russian Wikipedia has already sent the armed formations of the North Caucasus into the past.

Thus, "Vilayat Dagestan" "set as its goal the withdrawal of the Republic of Dagestan from the Russian Federation", "was part of the so-called" Caucasus Emirate "". The Emirate of the Caucasus, the jamaats of Nokhchichoi, Ingush, Ossetian, Kabardino-Balkarian, and others are also in the past tense. Explaining the choice of the past tense, the authors refer to statements by local authorities that there are no more militants on the territory of their republics.

The difference between the English and Arabic versions and the Russian ones is that the specified organizations continue their activities in them and are not designated as "terrorist".

The indelible past of the Kadyrovs

Kadyrovtsy in Russian Wikipedia is ten years younger than in English and Arabic.

In the English article "Kadyrovtsy" "began to form during the First Chechen War to fight the Russian army." Arabic version write that "the Kadyrovites appeared during the First Chechen War, when Akhmat Kadyrov declared jihad against Russia, but at the beginning of the Second Chechen War, Kadyrov's group broke away and joined the Russian camp, and since then they have been led by Ramzan Kadyrov with the support of the FSB."

History of the Kadyrovites in the article "Kadyrovtsy"(emphasis on "s") begins in 2006, when "under the patronage of Ramzan Kadyrov, the 'North' and 'South' battalions were created." The authors "cut off" the period of their struggle against the Kremlin.

Fighters of the Chechen battalion "Death" fight on the side of pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine

As for the Kadyrovs themselves, father and son, it makes no sense for the authors of the articles to "cut off" the well-known fact of their opposition to Moscow in the 1990s. But about this mentioned not at all at the beginning, but after listing the numerous titles and positions acquired in the service of the President of the Russian Federation.

However, in the English versions, the authors preferred to immediately emphasize that these people changed camp. Yes, at Akhmat Kadyrov such a definition in the first paragraph: "He was the supreme mufti of the CRI during and after the First Chechen War, but during the Second Chechen War he changed sides and offered his services to the Russian government, later becoming the president of Chechnya." And Ramzan Kadyrov is given a shorter definition: "The head of Chechnya and a former member of the movement for the independence of Chechnya."

Arabic is a little different. Ahmad Kadyrov- "the former president of Chechnya within Russia", and Ramzan Kadyrov- "The current president of Chechnya, in the past, was on the side of the Chechen rebels."

KHTTAB AMIR AL

(born in 1963 - died in 2002 (?))

A terrorist of Arab origin, "famous" for his deeds on the territory of Chechnya and Dagestan against the Russian army.

Amir al Khattab called himself a fighter for the faith of Allah and at the same time, in violation of God's commandments, he killed people, both infidels and believers. And in this regard, he can hardly be considered a person of ideas. Such people do not care where to fight and whom to kill. Nevertheless, among the many Chechen fighters, even "famous", Khattab is an odious figure. The goal of his activity was the defeat of Russia and the liberation of the Caucasus from Russian influence. A man far from mediocre - he spoke Arabic, Chechen, Dargin, Farsi and Russian - Khattab was an ardent supporter of Wahhabism, the most reactionary and implacable trend in Islam. Already in Chechnya, he married a Dargin woman from the Dagestan village of Karamakhi (Buinaksky district), had a daughter. For special "services" to the Chechen people, this closest friend of Shamil Basayev Khattab, he is also Emir Khattab, "Black Arab", "Ahmed one-armed", Rahman, Al-ibn-Khattab, Ahmed-bin-Vakhid, Emir Amin-Khattab, Amir of Chechnya, Mujahideen, Khattab Saudiy, Khattab Urduzhi - was awarded by the government of Ichkeria with the orders "Kyoman Siy" and "Kyoman Turpal". But even before his appearance in Chechnya, he managed to check in Afghanistan and Tajikistan.

There is a lot of confusion in the biography of Khattab, up to the year of birth. According to some sources, he is a native and citizen of Saudi Arabia, according to others - Jordan. There is evidence that he studied at the military academy in Amman and even served in the guards of King Hussein. And some argue that Khattab is an ethnic Chechen. And yet, presumably, he comes from one of the Arab tribes nomadic on the border of Jordan and Saudi Arabia, and his real name is Habib Abd al-Rahman. His father is a Saudi Arab, his mother is a native of Turkey, Turkish by nationality. The Khattab family belongs to one of the ancient families of Arabia, and the family in their homeland is considered quite wealthy and respected. According to some reports, Khattab has eight brothers.

Amir was born in 1963. When he was 19 years old, his relatives decided to send him to study in the USA (the young man was interested in physics). But then he announced his intention to participate in Jihad and, despite the dissuades of his older brother, left home, motivating his decision with the right to independently choose to participate in Jihad according to Sharia. Therefore, it is not known whether he then went overseas or not. At that time, the war in Afghanistan was in full swing, and in 1984 Khattab appeared among the Mujahideen there. He was trained in one of the training centers in Pakistan, and then took an active part in the hostilities against the Soviet troops. Khattab was an instructor in the camps of the Afghan Mujahideen in Pakistan. An experienced, well-trained terrorist fighter, he was a specialist in subversion. So - he dreamed of becoming a physicist, but became a mercenary. He could defend the rights of the Arabs in Palestine, but for some reason did not want to. During military operations, Khattab was wounded. According to some reports, one or two phalanges were missing on the fingers of his right hand, according to others, there were only two fingers on his right hand. Be that as it may, in the future he wrote and shot with his left hand.

In 1989, after the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan, Khattab returned home for a while. True, not for long. It didn't stay in place. Soon he again went to Afghanistan, where he began to help Tajik and Uzbek refugees. At this time, Khattab already adhered to the branch of Wahhabism developed in Afghanistan by the Palestinian thinker, the spiritual mentor of Osama bin Laden, Abdullah Azzam. Khattab was familiar with bin Laden, and familiar enough. This acquaintance will soon affect the situation in the Caucasus. Bin Laden was directly involved in inciting Jihad in Chechnya, in turning this small republic into a springboard to Europe.

After the end of hostilities in Afghanistan in 1992, Khattab moved to Tajikistan, where he was in the ranks of the armed Islamic opposition for three years. The nature of his activities remained the same as in Afghanistan - sabotage and terrorism. But here, too, everything came to an end. It was necessary to look for a new place to apply their "talents". According to Khattab himself, he learned about the war in the Caucasus only in December 1994 from CNN reports. Before that, he knew practically nothing about Chechnya, except for stories about Imam Shamil. In the spring of 1995, Khattab, with three of his associates, immigrants from the Middle East, arrived in the rebellious republic and until March 2002 actively participated in hostilities against the Russian army.

Having considerable experience, Khattab soon led a detachment of up to 300 militants, of which about half were Arab mercenaries. The main base of the detachment was in the village of Serzhen-Yurt, southeast of Grozny, in the Vedensky district, bordering Dagestan. In addition, Khattab's units were based in the villages of Nozhai-Yurt, Roshni-Chu, Zandak and in a number of other settlements in Chechnya. Serzhen-Yurt was not chosen by chance as a base. In 1995, after the capture of Grozny by the federal troops, Khattab's future closest friend Sh. Basayev pulled all the equipment, ammunition, stocks of weapons and other military equipment into the territory of the former pioneer camp and camp site in the vicinity of the village. It was here that a camp was created for the training of militants - the "Caucasus Training Center". Actually, there were several camps. They were called by the names of their chiefs: "Khattab-camp", "Abujafar-camp", "Yakub-camp", "Abubakar-camp", "Davgat-camp". Here, "teachers" rich in terrorist experience, mainly from Afghanistan, Pakistan and a number of Arab countries, taught capable "students". The training was conducted in the following disciplines: guerrilla methods of war, handling small arms, training of saboteurs and demolition miners, training of specialists in ideological warfare. Moreover, each camp had a specialization. The central "Khattab-camp" was the headquarters. About 100 mercenaries were concentrated here, there were constantly up to 20 “followers”, as well as two armored vehicles and a large number of vehicles.

Training in the camps took place on a three-month course. At the same time, up to 100 people were trained there. During its activity, the Kavkaz Center managed to train several thousand professional "Koran readers". The idea of ​​creating a single Islamic state from the Caspian to the Black Seas was hammered into the heads of the listeners. Funds for the maintenance of the camps came from a number of Middle Eastern states, and also, given Khattab's close contacts with bin Laden, from him too. In the camps, not only local Chechens and people from other Muslim peoples of Russia and the former USSR, but also representatives of far abroad countries underwent combat training and indoctrination. Members of such terrorist organizations as the Sword of Islam, the Muslim Brotherhood, and the New Current were trained at the Kavkaz Center.

The training center accepted, mainly, in the directions received from the emirs of the "Jamaat" or the imams of mosques who preached Wahhabism. The main bet was placed on young people aged 15 to 25, who had not yet determined their future life, or who wanted to earn money in this way. In the latter case, religion, as it were, faded into the background, but a stable salary of 200 to 500 dollars a month, and, in addition, bonuses in the event of the destruction of enemies, became the most important factor that encouraged young people to take up arms. For each killed Russian soldier, they paid about 1 thousand dollars, for an officer - 2 thousand.

The discipline in the camps was very severe. Young militants were obliged to leave their families and obey only direct commanders. They had to be ready for anything and consider it happiness to "give up their lives for a common cause." From the first weeks, recruits were trained in the handling of explosive devices and indoctrinated. There was no entertainment in the camps. In the breaks between classes, the young men were arranged to watch videotapes, which showed victorious military operations against the Russian troops, tortures, to which the same Khattab subjected Russian prisoners of war with sophisticated cruelty. This had one goal: young people had to learn to take torture and cruelty calmly, as something taken for granted.

Khattab personally trained militants subordinate to him and was notable for his particular cruelty towards prisoners, including the wounded, preferring to use edged weapons. He sneered at the corpses of Russian servicemen, cutting off their noses, ears, removing scalps. The terrorist recorded all these actions on video and photographic film in order to demonstrate his practical activities. In 2001, Russian special forces found in a village in the Archun Gorge more than 150 videotapes with recordings of executions of Russian soldiers. The faces of the perpetrators of the crimes were clearly visible on the films, as well as the faces of the leaders of the Chechen fighters who were present at the same time, including Khattab and Basayev. Khattab and Basayev's calls to the Chechens to kill "Russian pigs" were also found here.

Khattab's detachment in 1996 already numbered over one and a half thousand militants, including several hundred Arabs. By this time, this detachment had carried out more than 20 combat operations against federal troops, mainly on the so-called Central Front, commanded by Sh. Basayev. The most notorious was the operation carried out on April 16, 1996 on the mountain road between the villages of Yaryshmardy and Dachuborza (Shatoisky district), when a column of the 245th motorized rifle regiment was destroyed from an ambush. Then the Russian side lost 95 people killed, 26 of them officers, and 54 wounded. Only 13 servicemen managed to escape from the ambush. In December of the same year, on the orders of Khattab, doctors from the humanitarian mission of the Red Cross were killed in the village of Novye Atagi. Apparently, for great services to the Chechen people, by order of the President of Chechnya A. Maskhadov, Khattab was then appointed head of the training center of the Central Front, deputy Amir of the Majlisul Shura Sh. Basayev, military Amir of the Majlisul Shura, commander of the international brigade. On December 22, 1997, he attacked the 136th motorized rifle brigade in Buynaksk (Dagestan) and was wounded while retreating to Chechnya.

In the summer of 1998, Khattab became much more active. Even the local security service reported to Maskhadov: “Wahhabis in groups of 15-20 people are leaving for the Republic of Dagestan, and over the past two weeks they have added large-caliber firearms and vehicles ...” Indeed, Khattab organized the delivery of weapons and ammunition for armed actions, and then, with his direct participation, events took place in the city of Kizlyar and with. Pervomaiskoye (Dagestan). At this time, in certain regions of Chechnya, an influx of Wahhabis from Tajikistan and the Arabian Peninsula was noted. They arrived with their families, bought houses and engaged in increased propaganda to attract new supporters to their ranks. Also noted was the desire of the Wahhabis to infiltrate the security service of Chechnya. At the same time, they were even ready to sacrifice their beard. This was reported by informants embedded in Khattab's inner circle. By the way, these informants also said that "Khattab believes that only he has real power over the militants in Chechnya and only he can negotiate with the federal forces." Other field commanders "are worth nothing without him", and their destiny is "to spend the winter in the mountains, to wait for his return and money." In addition, Khattab boasted that if he wanted to, he himself would negotiate with Moscow, "and not this Maskhadov or Shamil (Basaev)".

Yes, big terror means big money. And the financing of militants from the countries of the Middle East went through Khattab.

But not only money came to Chechnya from outside. Weapons, ammunition, explosives arrived - all this, by the way, also brought considerable profit. The weapons purchased in neighboring Georgia were then resold to Dagestan, Ingushetia, and Russia. Black caviar, gold, gold items, currency went to Russia, mainly to Moscow, which was due to the difference in the dollar exchange rate in Chechnya and the Russian Federation. Drugs also brought in huge profits. They were partly produced in Chechnya, partly imported from Turkmenistan and Tajikistan. Then they were transported to Georgia as barter or for money, but for the most part went to Russia. Maskhadov's security service was well aware of all this. Even in the inner circle of Khattab, her agents worked. One of them was the agent "Bedouin", an Arab, personal representative of Osama bin Laden in Chechnya, recruited by the security service. In addition, information about Khattab came from family contacts, as well as from proxies.

In February 2001, a number of media outlets received an appeal from Khattab by e-mail. “From now on and until the end of time,” it said, “the sacred banner of the Prophet will fly over the entire earthly firmament, over the countries of the infidels, for such is His will. Vile pagans of the West, mired in debauchery, and you pig-like Jews! I, the Amir of the Faithful Khattab, gave the order to my brothers in pious faith, the Chechens, who are in your dirty countries, to destroy you without pity. The Russians have already learned in their own skin the full force of the righteous wrath of the Almighty. Now it's your turn. The flame of Jihad will sweep away your disgusting world, the world of infidels, we will blow up your houses, ships, planes, we will kill you on the streets of your impious cities, for the death of depraved, disgusting pagans is pleasing to the Almighty. Here Khattab acted as the arbiter of the destinies of the world, nothing less than on behalf of the Almighty! A man flew high, or rather, a bloodthirsty maniac. In the meantime, there was not enough strength for the whole world, he took up Chechnya. In March of the same year, signed by Sh. Basayev and Khattab, an order followed, instructing the militants to blow up and burn all trains with oil, disable the railway, destroy oil production sites, and force people working in the oil industry to leave their jobs.

In March 2002, the Prosecutor General's Office of the Russian Federation opened a criminal case against Khattab on the basis of video materials showing the execution of Russian servicemen. The tape featured Khattab personally shooting one of them. The case was initiated under the articles: hostage-taking, banditry, encroachment on the life of a law enforcement officer. A month later, on April 25, the FSB of Russia reported that as a result of a special operation, the international terrorist Khattab had been killed. Video materials were presented confirming this fact. But since the details of the operation were not disclosed, there were various rumors, especially about the method of destroying Khattab. According to the most incredible of them, a microchip was implanted in the body of one of the high-ranking militants before being exchanged for four Russian soldiers during the operation to remove the fragment. This man was always near Khattab, so he was soon discovered and destroyed with the help of guided bombs and shells. However, no injuries to Khattab were recorded on the videotape. But according to the information of the militants, he was poisoned with the help of a letter brought to him by a messenger who turned out to be an agent of the Russian special services. In May, it became known that Ibragim Alauri was executed in Chechnya, who, as the "investigation" of the militants established, collaborated with the Dagestan intelligence and personally poisoned the "fatal letter" handed over to Khattab. Be that as it may, but the name of Khattab is no longer mentioned in reports from Chechnya.

From the book Chronicle of Muhammad Tahir al-Karahi about the Dagestan wars in the period of Shamil [The brilliance of Dagestan drafts in some Shamil battles] author al-Qarahi Muhammad Tahir

Chapter on Amir Khan's raid in Erpel and Karanay When the imam passed through Erpel and Karanay during his return from Kazanish, he ordered their inhabitants to move to places inaccessible to enemies. They asked him to delay until the weather was fine.

Born in the city of Arar (Saudi Arabia). According to Newsweek, Khattab is an ethnic Chechen, a representative of the large Jordanian Chechen diaspora. There is also information that he was half Circassian. Akhmat Kadyrov, when he was the head of the administration of the Chechen Republic, pointed out that Khattab allegedly is in fact a Yemenite Jew who named his first daughter Sarah. This statement was made by Kadyrov after a personal trip to Jordan, during which he made an unsuccessful attempt to establish contacts with the Jordanian Chechen diaspora.

In his youth, he was going to get a higher education and become a physicist or mathematician. In 1987, his relatives wanted to send him to study in the United States, but he refused and left home, citing his Shariah right to participate in ghazawat, despite the prohibition of his relatives.

In the same 1987 he went to Afghanistan, where he took an active part in the hostilities against the Soviet troops. He distinguished himself in the battles for Jalalabad and Kabul. He was seriously wounded in the stomach by a 12.7 mm bullet. He lost several fingers on his hand in a grenade explosion.

In 1993, after the Mujahideen coalition came to power in Afghanistan, he returned home, but soon went back to Afghanistan, where, with a group of associates, he trained and armed Islamic opposition from Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. He participated in the attack on the 12th outpost of the Moscow border detachment, as a result of which 25 Russian border guards were killed. Contrary to the assertion of some sources, Khattab was not the organizer of this attack, but only led one of the detachments participating in it.

In December 1994, from a CNN report, he learned about the war in Chechnya and already in January 1995, together with 18 like-minded people (including Abu al-Walid and Abu Kuteiba), he arrived in Grozny. He took an active part in the First Chechen War, organized a number of successful operations against Russian troops.

He was an experienced and well-trained terrorist, owned all types of small arms. Understood in mine-subversive business. He personally trained suicide bombers subordinate to him.

He organized foreign financing for the purchase of ammunition and the arrangement of camps for the training of militants in Chechnya.

According to media reports, in the summer of 1996 he was preparing the liquidation or, if possible, the abduction of the pro-Russian head of the Chechen Republic, Doku Zavgaev.

He was closely acquainted and regularly contacted Shamil Basayev, whom he taught the specifics of the war in the mountains, explosives, methods and methods of sabotage and terrorist activities.

In 1995, together with members of his detachment, he created the military-religious training center "Kavkaz" on the outskirts of the village of Serzhen-Yurt (on the territory of a former pioneer camp). In the camp, young people from nearby villages were trained in Islam and various aspects of military affairs. In total, about 10 thousand militants were trained in this training center.

In 1996, he married a Dargin woman from the Kadar zone of Dagestan, Fatima Bidagova.

In 1998, he joined the terrorist organization Congress of the Peoples of Ichkeria and Dagestan (KNID) and headed the Islamic Peacekeeping Brigade (an armed formation of the KNID).

In August and September 1999, together with Shamil Basayev, he organized and led raids by Chechen-Dagestan militants on the territory of Dagestan.

He was killed in March 2002 as a result of a secret operation of the Russian special services (Khattab was given a letter, allegedly from his mother, the paper of which was treated with poison).

He was awarded the highest military awards of the CRI: two orders "Kyoman Turpal" (Chech. "Hero of the Nation", the first from Zelimkhan, the second from Shamil), the Order "Defender of the Fatherland" (from Dzhokhar) and the gold medal "Valiant Warrior" (from Aslan) .

A Russian court posthumously recognized Khattab as one of the masterminds behind the terrorist attacks in Buynaksk, Moscow, and Volgodonsk in 1999.

Characteristic

Hero of Russia, Colonel General Gennady Troshev wrote about this man in his memoirs:

Khattab was called one-armed not by chance. All the fingers of his right hand are missing one or two phalanges. But he also shoots skillfully with his left hand. Love for weapons, apparently, is a family disease. The terrorist's sister, for example, owns a large gun shop in the United States. However, it is unlikely that he will be able to visit his sister Khattab, because Western intelligence agencies have been hunting for him for many years: “Height is 174-176 cm, youthful appearance, swarthy, wears a beard, shoulder-length hair ...” And Khattab has only to cross the border, on his hands the handcuffs will immediately snap into place: a train of brutal murders stretches behind the Black Arab.

Khattab just loves, like some of his friends, demonstrative executions, especially of non-Christians. Slowly cut off the prisoners' ears, noses, scalps ... And so that everything is recorded on videotape. He then demonstrates these "film documents" to influential foreign Muslim "ultra" in confirmation of his firmness in the course of building a new Wahhabi state - from the Caspian to the Black Seas.

Gennady Troshev. "My war. Chechen diary of a trench general, memoirs, book

Notable terrorist attacks involving Khattab

• July 13, 1993 - an attack on the 12th outpost of the Moscow border detachment on the Tajik-Afghan border.

• October 1995 - Khattab's detachment attacked a checkpoint of Russian troops near the village of Kharachoy.

• April 16, 1996 - Attack on a convoy of Russian troops near the village. Yarysh-mardy.

• The capture of 28 soldiers of the internal troops of the Russian Federation in the village. Shuan.

• Khattab is credited with a terrorist act against doctors of the Red Cross humanitarian mission on December 17, 1996 in the village of Novye Atagi, when six people were shot by criminals.

• December 22, 1997 - Khattab's detachment attacked the 136th motorized rifle brigade in Buynaksk (Dagestan).

• August - September 1999 - organization and leadership, together with Shamil Basaev, of incursions of militants into Dagestan with the aim of armed support for local Islamic radicals. During the hostilities in Dagestan, there were explosions of residential buildings in Buynaksk, Moscow and Volgodonsk, the customer of which, as the court established, was Khattab.

• March 2000 - leadership of the breakthrough of militants from the "cauldron" in the Argun Gorge. One of the heavy battles took place near the village of Ulus-Kert, where the militants were able to break through the encirclement, meeting on the way the 6th company of paratroopers of the Pskov Airborne Division (see Battle at Hill 776). According to federal forces, up to 2,500 militants broke through the combat formations of the 6th company, who eventually lost more than 500 people killed.