Chechnya's separatist president Aslan Maskhadov denied Sunday that any of his supporters were involved in the hijacking of a Russian airplane to Israel, his press service told AFP.
"The Chechen leadership continues to abide by the commitment, which it has pledged in the past, that no Chechen military operation will ever target the civilian population," said a Maskhadov spokesman contacted on the telephone by AFP in the neighboring republic of Dagestan.
The Chechen leadership believed "the hijacking of the plane by unknown persons may be a personal revenge of some people against the actions of (Russian) federal troops in Chechnya," he added.
"It may be a provocation organized by the Russian special services, with a view to creating a negative image of the Chechen movement of armed resistance," the spokesman said.
The Vnukovo Airlines plane, carrying 48 passengers and 10 crew on a scheduled flight from the Dagestan to Moscow, was re-routed to Israel's Ouvda military airport, about 50 kilometers (30 miles) north of the Red Sea resort of Eilat, after making a refueling stop in Baku, Azerbaijan.
Israel's army chief of staff Shaul Mofaz said Sunday that the hijacking of a Russian plane which landed Sunday in southern Israel was practically over after one hijacker, apparently working alone, surrendered -- SLEPTSOVSK (AFP)
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