In 1992, Lazovsky organized a gang that was linked to the Chechen criminal groups which tried to control oil business in the neighbouring regions.

A previously unknown Chechen group later claimed responsibility for that bombing.

A previously unknown Chechen terrorist group claimed it launched the attack to mark the fourth anniversary of the February 2000 Novye Aldi massacre in Chechnya.

On 21 August, a Chechen group claimed responsibility for the attack.

In November 1998, Russian authorities notified the United States that a Chechen group claimed to have the remains.

As of the 2010 Census, the republic had a population of 1,268,989 people, predominantly of the Chechen ethnic group with a substantial Russian minority.

Chechen criminal groups and guerrilla factions reportedly play a significant part in the narcotics trade in Central Asia, Russia and the Caucasus region.

Separately, a senior State Department official said today that the United States was considering whether to add unnamed Chechen groups to its list of foreign terrorist organizations.

Grozny, the capital, is in rubble and occupied by both the Russian Army and a variety of armed Chechen groups.

The arrival of the Chechen group in Moscow had been preceded by negotiations with the top leaders of Russian law enforcement agencies.