Russian weapon used in assassination of 3 Chechen militants in Istanbul

PanARMENIAN.Net - Six former Chechen commanders were all killed in Turkey over the past four years with the same weapon produced by an arms factory near Moscow for the Russian Military Intelligence Service, or GRU, according to Turkish police sources.

Production on the 7.62 milimeter MSP Groza (“Thunderstorm”) began at a weapons plant in Tula near Moscow in 1994 for the GRU. The Groza, which can be used either as a long- or short-barreled weapon, can also be used to launch rifle grenades. Night vision equipment, as well as a scope, can also be mounted on the double-barreled weapon. With a maximum range of 700 meters, the Groza is reportedly a favorite with Russian agents due to its versatility.

The killing of three Chechens, Musaevi Berkkhazh, Rustam Altemirol and Zavrbek Amriev, in Istanbul’s Zeytinburnu district on Sept. 16 with a silencer arm was also committed with the same weapon, according to daily Radikal.

All the Chechens assassinated in Turkey had fought in the Russian-Chechen War and had arrived in Turkey either after they were wounded in battle or after their true identities were revealed. Some were killed in front of their wives and children, while others never returned home after venturing outside.

Despite claims that the former Chechen commanders were killed due to personal matters, mafia relations or alleged love affairs, the use of the same weapon in every act indicates another culprit, according to claims.

Meanwhile, another Chechen dissident, Omer Israilov, 27, was also killed in Vienna on Jan. 13, 2009, in a similar fashion to the compatriots murdered in Turkey. Crime scene investigators there also reportedly recovered an empty 7.62 millimeter shell.

Gazhi Edilsultanov was shot dead with two bullets in the head on Sept. 6, 2008, after he ventured out of the Chechen camp in Istanbul’s Fenerbahce neighborhood. A former colonel in the 1999 Russian-Chechen War, Edilsultanov was wounded heavily in 2001 and arrived in Turkey in 2004.

Islam Canibekov, a leading Chechen general who fought against Russian forces for years, settled in Istanbul in 2002. Canibekov was being sought in Russia for allegedly killing 30 people and conducting three bomb attacks. He was shot dead with three bullets in the head on Dec. 9, 2008, while on his way back home with his wife and children.

Ali Osaev, the representative of Chechen leader Doku Umarov in Turkey, also settled in Turkey after the 1999 war. He was also killed on Feb. 2, 2009, while entering his flat. He had told a close friend that Ramazan Kadirov had sent three teams to Istanbul to kill him, according to reports.

Musaevi had replaced Osaev after the assassination of the latter in 2009. He was killed along with two of his men after Friday prayers on Sept. 16, 2011. Twelve shots were fired from a black automobile during the incident in Zeytinburnu, Hurriyet Daily News reported.