Pro-Russian Chechen forces on Friday killed a top commander of rebels battling Moscow's rule in Chechnya, an army spokesman said. Yunadi Turchayev, who led rebels in central Chechnya and in the capital Grozny for at least a year, was a top commander in rebel forces controlled by Aslan Maskhadov and warlord Shamil Basayev. "A Chechen interior ministry patrol discovered the hiding place of Yunadi Turchayev and his companions," said the army. "In the course of the capture operation the bandits tried to mount armed resistance, and were destroyed by return fire."

Rebel news sources did not confirm or deny the report.

Turchayev, 32, was part of a younger generation of Chechen fighters who have moved up to fill positions vacated by commanders who have either been killed or fled abroad. He was also charged with recruiting young men into the rebel forces, the army said.

Turchayev was the second high-ranking rebel to die in a year, after the killing of Ruslan Gelayev this time last February, but neither had the fame or profile of Maskhadov and Basayev - who are blamed for most militant attacks and have a $20 million price on their heads.

Copyright Reuters, 2005