News of the death of Russia's most-wanted terrorist, Shamil Basayev, has been met with widespread support from political leaders inside Russia and around the world.
Russian defence minister Sergey Ivanov confirmed the killing of Basayev, mastermind behind dozens of terrorist attacks including the 2004 Beslan school seige. Ivanov named the terrorist the “Russian Usama bin Laden.”U.S. President George Bush said that if Basayev had been responsible for the Beslan tragedy, he deserved to die, comments echoed by the chairman of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe, Karel de Gucht. He expressed hope that Besayev's death would help stabilise affairs in the north Caucasus. Jose Manuel Barroso, president of the European Commission, offered support to Russia in its fight against terrorism. Chechnya's head Mufti, Sultan Mirzayev, labelled Basayev an enemy of the Chechen people and an enemy of Allah. The religious leader expressed fierce opposition to extremist organisations who dubbed Basayev a martyr. He said Basayev's beliefs conflicted with those of muslims.