A Chechen Rebel Chief Reportedly Slain

Russian troops killed three rebels in Starye Atagi, south of the Chechen capital, Grozny, an official with the Kremlin-appointed administration for Chechnya said on condition of anonymity.

One of the dead was identified as Abu Yakub, a rebel chief who worked as the head sabotage and explosives expert for Khattab, a prominent Muslim warlord who is Jordanian by birth and uses only one name, the official said.

President Vladimir V. Putin has urged the rebels to sever ties with Osama bin Laden, the suspected mastermind of the terror attacks on the U.S. Russian officials say Khattab, who remains at large, is a close associate of Bin Laden.