Relatives recognized Akhmed Chataev on the photo of assassinated person

Reginfo.ge 

The relatives recognized Akhmed Chataev on the photo of the badly damaged body of one of the killed during the special operation, which was disseminated by media. 

“The body is badly injured but based on the head shape, ear and prosthetic appliance, as well as according to the disseminated information, it was Akhmed. As we found out, he had not been in Georgia for a long time. He arrived about a month ago together with some of his co-combatants. They planned to spend winter in Georgia and then return to the Caucasian Emirate,” Chataev’s relatives told REGinfo.

REGinfo tried to find out whether Akhmed Chataev will be buried in Pankisi Gorge if the expertise confirms that one of the killed combatants was really Chataev. His wife and underage child live in the Gorge. As relatives said, according to the muslim traditions, they cannot refuse to bury him in the cemetery. “If the government confirms that it was really Akhmed Chataev, the issue of his burial will raise. We have not yet found out the opinion of his wife’s family but we will not refuse to bury him,” Chataev’s relatives said.

Also, Akhmed Chataev’s relatives do not exclude that the person arrested by the State Security Service in connection with the special operation may be Surkho Dudaev, though he has changed his name.

37-years-old Surkho Dudaev participated in the Lapankuri operation. He was in the 17-member armed formation, which arrived in Lopota Gorge in the end of August, 2012. He survived the operation alive. Before the special operation in Lopota Gorge, Surkho Dudaev accompanied Akhmed Chataev together with another armed formation member Abu Hamza.  The leadership of the Georgian counter-terrorist center took Akhmed Chataev to Lapankuri to negotiate with the armed combatants. After the special operation, Surkho Dudaev, together with the survived members of the armed formation, managed to leave Georgia and travelled to Turkey with the support of the former government of Georgia. He was friend of Akhmed Chataev and presumably from the end of 2014, he was member of the Islam State Iarmuk, which was led by Chataev and was mainly staffed by the combatants from the North Caucasus, and Georgia. 

According to the State Security Service of Georgia, as a result of special operation conducted on November 21-22 by Counterterrorism Department under State Security Service of Georgia at Beri Gabriel Salosi Avenue in Tbilisi, one individual is detained and three were killed. During the special operation one officer of the Special Operations Department has fallen and four officers are wounded. The members of the mentioned criminal group were not Georgian nationals.

Chief Prosecutor’s Office of Georgia has charged S.D. with joining a foreign terrorist organization or supporting this organization in terrorist activities, and unlawful purchase, storage, carrying, manufacturing, transportation, transfer, sale or use of firearms, ammunition, explosives or equipment for terrorist purposes. Advocate Imeda Karkashadze said the detainee is the citizen of Russia and he was arrested nearby the Beri Gabriel Salosi Street several hours before the special operation started. The court has sentenced him to imprisonment. The detainee does not plead guilty and enjoys the right to silence. According to media reports, he is either Surkho Dudaev or Saed Dudaev.

 

Reportedly, one of the leaders of the ISIS Akhmed Chataev is among the killed persons. On November 26, the head of the SSG Vakhtang Gomelauri said there is doubt that Akhmed Chataev is among the killed during the special operation. He added that the identities of the killed persons will be disclosed after the expertise is over. FBI experts are involved in the investigation of the special operation.

According to current information, the armed Akhmed Chataev exploded himself in the targeted flat after one of his team-members was killed in the yard by the special unit officers. The footage disseminated by the TV-Companies Imedi and Rustavi 2 show the badly injured body and prosthetic appliance. As it is known, Chataev had amputated his left leg as a result of the wound he received during the Lapankuri special operate and had prosthetic appliance. 

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