Russia says its forces have killed a senior Saudi-born al-Qaeda figure in the North Caucasus region.
Officials say Haled Yusef Muhammed al Emirat, who they describe as al-Qaeda's chief envoy in the region, died with another rebel in a clash with troops in Chechnya.
Russia is fighting against a low-level Islamist insurgency in several North-Caucus republics, the BBC reports.
Russia's National Anti-Terrorist Committee said in a statement that the militant has been operating in the North Caucasus since 1999 and that by 2005 had emerged as the top liaison official with al-Qaeda, helping raise foreign funds, particularly from the Arabian Peninsula.
A pro-rebel website confirmed the death and said at least two other militants had died in the attack.
