Commander Abul Walid has been martyred

Ameer Abul Walid (Abdul Aziz Al-Ghamdi), the commander of Arab fighters in Chechnya, has been killed, a family member confirmed Sunday, April 18.

A brother of Ghamdi, aka Abul Walid, said the family had received news of his martyrdom Sunday morning, but did not say how the 34-year-old commander had died, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP). The Saudi website Islam Today said Ghamdi had "been hit in the back" while preparing for prayers on Friday, April 16, adding the incidents took place in one of the camps of the mujahedeen fighting the Russian occupation forces in Chechnya.

The brother, who asked not to be named, told AFP the family were receiving condolences at their home.

He said Abul Walid, who was married to a Chechen, had been in Chechnya for the past six years and had also fought then-Soviet forces in Afghanistan during the 1980s.

Abul Walid, succeeded Arab commander Khattab, also Saudi-born, after he was killed two years ago. Khattab, whose real name was Thamer bin Saleh al-Suwailem, and who fought with Arab fighters against Moscow's troops in Chechnya, was killed in March 2002.

According to Chechen fighters, Khattab died five minutes after receiving a poisoned letter, which had been delivered by a messenger known to him.

A Chechen group later said its members killed the man blamed for the slaying of Khattab.

Republic of Chechnya has been ravaged by conflict since 1994, with just three years of relative peace after the first war between Russian forces and Chechen fighters ended in August 1996 and the second broke out in October 1999.

At least 250,000 civilians and 100,000 Russian troops are estimated to have been killed in both wars, but human rights groups have said the real numbers could be much higher.

Last October, human rights groups accused the West  of ignoring blatant and state-sanctioned abuses in Russia for the sake of improving relations with President Vladimir Putin.

The U.N. Human Rights Committee slammed  in a panel on November 7 the ill-treatment of detainees under interrogation, executions and torture in the republic of Chechnya.