U.S. calls Chechens terrorists

Grozny, Russia

The U.S. has added three Chechen separatist groups to its list of foreign terror organizations, a move Russia has long been pushing for. The State Department said the Riyadus-Salikhin Reconnaissance and Sabotage Battalion, the Special Purpose Islamic Regiment, and the Islamic International Brigade have ties to al Qaida and to Taliban militants. The terrorist listing means that U.S. banks must freeze any assets the groups have in the United States. But since these groups are believed to have no such assets, the listing’s only real effect will be to support the Russian government in its drive to cast the bloody war in Chechnya as a fight against terrorism.

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