Independent:
The net appeared to be closing around one of Russia's two most wanted men last night after Chechnya's Moscow-backed authorities said they had cornered the breakaway region's long-sought rebel president, Aslan Maskhadov.
Ramzan Kadyrov, deputy prime minister in the region's Moscow-friendly government, said that he "had every reason to believe" Maskhadov and his associates were trapped by his forces in a forest in south-east Chechnya.
Officials said they had picked up the call signs of Maskhadov's closest aides in radio traffic from the cornered rebels, as well as numerous tip-offs that he was in the area. Mr Kadyrov said he hoped to capture Maskhadov alive after "liquidating" the armed gang surrounding him, which, he said, was led by the rebel president's most senior bodyguard, Akhmed Avdorkhanov. Rebel sources said some of Maskhadov's most senior aides were trapped but denied that he was present.
The Kremlin blames Maskhadov and the Chechen warlord Shamil Basayev for the Beslan school massacre and has posted a $10m (£6m) reward for information leading to their "neutralisation". But Maskhadov denies involvement in the Beslan atrocities, and tried to disassociate himself from Basayev by saying the latter should be tried for war crimes over the tragedy.
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