Threats of terrorism continue in Russia, with Chechen rebels offering $20 million US for President Vladimir Putin's head and police finding a stockpile of explosives in a St. Petersburg cinema. The rebels called Putin a "war criminal" on their websites and said anybody willing to help the "Chechen Republic" can receive the award. It is signed, "the anti-terrorist center of the Chechen Republic," part of rebel leader Aslan Maskhadov's unrecognized government.
The rebels' website also accuses Putin of launching war on Chechnya and blames him for the school attack in the town of Beslan last week, where about 1,200 were taken hostage and at least 326 people died. For its part, Russia criticized some western countries for refusing to extradite Chechen separatists who have not been proven to be involved in terrorist activities. "We consider the political asylum granted to them is totally inconsistent with the spirit of our partnership with the United States and Britain," said Sergei Lavrov, a Russian government spokesman.
The Russian government offered $10 million US on Wednesday for anyone with information on the whereabouts of Maskhadov -- who is in exile -- and another leader, Shamil Basayev. Maskhadov has denied involvement in the hostage-taking and Basayev has yet to comment, but experts say the attack showed all the signs of his leadership. Meanwhile in St. Petersburg, Russia's second-largest city, authorities may have averted another disaster. They found 200 grams of TNT, a shotgun with cartridges, and 900 grams of plastic explosives in a theatre currently under renovation. |