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Former Chechen Rebel Commander's Son Reported Killed In Syria


Reports say the late Chechen rebel field commander Ruslan Gelayev's son has been killed while fighting for the opposition in the Syrian conflict.

The Chechen Islamist website KavkazCenter said Rustam Gelayev, born in 1988, was killed sometime between August 11 and 13 in a battle against Syrian government forces.

Ruslan Gelayev was killed by Russian troops in Daghestan as he was attempting to cross the Russian-Georgian border in February 2004.

The Interfax news agency quoted a spokesman for the pro-Moscow Chechen government, Alvi Karimov, as saying that “there are no Chechens among the armed opposition in Syria.”

Based on reporting by AFP, Interfax, and kavkazcenter.com

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