Chechen rebel leader Shamil Basayev has apparently claimed responsibility for last week's raid on a city in southern Russia.
A statement said to be written by Mr. Basayev posted on a rebel website Monday says he directed last Thursday's coordinated attacks on Nalchik. The message says militants from the group Caucasus Front carried out the operation.
More than 100 people were killed in the fighting in Nalchik, the provincial capital of Russia's Kabardino-Balkaria region. The province borders the republic of Chechnya where Russian forces have been fighting Muslim separatists for more than a decade.
Shamil Basayev is the most wanted man in Russia. The Chechen warlord claimed responsibility for the 2004 Beslan school massacre that claimed 330 lives, most of them children.
Some information for this story provided by AP and AFP.
