Yandarbiyev's 13-year-old son was critically wounded in the blast, which occurred as he and his father were driving away from a mosque in the upscale residential area of al-Dafnah where they had performed Friday prayers, said the Interior Ministry.

Yandarbiyev, who was acting president of Chechnya in 1996-97, had been linked to the al-Qaeda terror group. Russia had been seeking his extradition from Qatar, where he lived for at least three years, accusing him of ties to kidnappers and international terrorists.

Last year, the United Nations put Yandarbiyev on a list of people with alleged links to al-Qaeda, and the U.S. government put Yandarbiyev on a list of international terrorists who are subject to financial sanctions.

Yandarbiyev was considered a key link in the Chechen rebels' finance network, channeling funds from abroad.

The Japan Times Weekly: Feb. 21, 2004
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