Jeremy Page, Moscow Correspondent of The Times, says that Shamil Basayev's death leaves the Chechen rebel movement decapitated and robbed of its inspirational commander:

"Shamil Basayev's death has been announced before but there seems to be no doubt about it this time. The FSB has formally announced it and they have shown brief footage of his body, lying on his back, the right arm bandaged and bloodied. It was recognisably him - he had a thick black beard as he has had since the early 1990s when he first became involved in the Chechen movement.

"We've also seen President Putin's response. He welcomed the news, although in a very sombre tone, and said it was "deserved retribution" for the attacks on Beslan in 2004 and other atrocities including apartment block bombings in 1999 in which several hundred people died.

"Basayev was the Chechen rebel movement's top military strategist, their field commander and also their ideological leader, single-handedly responsible for the radicalisation of the Chechen rebel movement in the late 1990s.

"It was he who moved from the strategy from political independence to the drive for an Islamic caliphate across the northern Caucasus. He also pioneered terrorist tactics and justified their use - Russian forces were targeting civilians in Chechnya, he argued, so they had to respond.

"When he started to pursue these kinds of tactics, there were reports of a split between him and Aslan Mashkadov, the former Chechen rebel president killed last year. Other more moderate Chechen rebel figures also disagreed with him, but they were never able to challenge his authority.

"The Kremlin says that he also had extensive links to international terror organisations such as al-Qaeda. He invited ideologues and known terrorists to Chechnya in the late 1990s to help pursue his goals. He also claimed responsibility for the Beslan siege in 2004. It's impossible to tell for sure but I have not reason to doubt that - the Russians accused him of masterminding the whole thing and nobody else has come forward to claim responsibility.

"So, with his death the Chechen rebel movement has been decapitated. He was their main military commander, strategist and key ideological leader. By all accounts there is no clear successor to him.

"The next most powerful Chechen leader is Doku Umarov, who was recently appointed the rebel president, although Basayev remained top of the tree. His death should leave Umarov in charge of the rebel movement, but without Basayev there are robbed of their main inspiration and their most effective commander."

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