Senior Chechnyan al Qaeda Leader Reportedly Killed in Suicide Blast

The Counterterrorism Blog reports that Abu Omar Mohammed bin Abdullah al-Saif, a Saudi al Qaeda in Chechnya commander, has killed himself in Dagestan to avoid capture by Russian forces:

Unable to escape after Russian soldiers backed by helicopters surrounded his temporary hideout, Abu Omar allegedly detonated an explosive device he was carrying and collapsed the building on top of himself. Known as the "Imam of the Chechen mujahideen", Abu Omar was an original founder of the Arab-Afghan mujahideen movement in Chechnya and was named by Russian officials as a suspect in numerous Caucasus-linked terrorist attacks, including the Moscow theatre siege and the Beslan school hostage massacre.

The Counterterrorism Blog has more, including a 2000 interview with Abu Omar.