Russian media reports that the most wanted Chechen rebel warlord, Shamil Basayev, has been killed. Basayev was said to have been murdered in July, 2006, in a special operation in Ingushetia, near Chechnya. This, according to Russia's FSB security service chief Nikolai Patrushev.

Basayev, a key Chechen rebel commander, led many major attacks against Russia. President Vladimir Putin said Basayev's killing was "deserved retribution" for terror attacks, including the 2004 mass hostage-taking at an elementary school in Beslan, which led to at least 331 deaths. It triggered outrage in Russia and other...