Russian intelligence suspected in new killing of Chechen in Turkey
March 4, 2009 2 Comments
By IAN ALLEN | intelNews.org |
Another assassination of a former Chechen insurgent living in Turkey has been reported. This time it was Musa Atayev (also known as Ali Osaev), 48, who was killed in Zeytinburnu, Istanbul, with three shots to the head from a gun equipped with a silencer. Atayev’s assassination was the third such killing in five months. In September of 2008, Gazhi Edilsutanov was also shot in the head in Istanbul’s Başakşehir suburb, while last December Islam Dzhanibekov was shot and killed in front of his home in the Turkish commercial capital’s Ümraniye district. Notably, all three Chechens were reportedly shot from a close range with a single action 7.62 MSP pistol. This type of weapon has been traditionally favored by the KGB and its successor agencies since the early 1970s, mainly due to its small size and relatively silent operation. The similarities of the three killings have not escaped Turkish intelligence agencies, who appear to be investigating the assassinations. It has been revealed that a “special team” from Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization (MİT) visited Istanbul’s Police Department last weekend and “took a copy of the murder files”. The move is interpreted by observers to imply that Turkish counterintelligence agents are probing a possible Russian link to the Chechens’ assassinations.
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It could just be mafia from Caucausus taking care of their own business. Not necessarily FSB.
Khadyrov has a lot of enemies on his list – no reason why he couldn’t go after them – especially in Turkey.
As for MIT interest – one would hope that Chechen mafia crimes stir interest.
Re: MİT interest in Chechen mafia crimes –>point taken. This, of course, is highly unlikely, considering the longstanding intelligence camaraderie between Turkey and Chechen separatists, which dates back to the Cold War era. [IA]