Al-Qaeda's terror point man killed in Chechnya

A Saudi national said to be the North Caucasus point man of al-Qaeda and the brain behind spate of suicide attacks in Russia was killed by security forces in the country's restive province of Chechnya, officials said.

The militant only known by his nom-de-guerre of Moganned who had been eluding Russian forces for over three years was killed along with two other militants in a shootout in the village of Serzhen-Yurt in Shali district of Chechnya, during a search operation, Russia's anti-terrorism agency announced.

Along with Chechen militant leader Doku Umrav, Moganned was the most wanted terrorist in the region.

"One of the militants eliminated has been identified as the main emissary of International Terrorist Organisation, al-Qaeda in the northern Caucasus, a citizen of Saudi Arabia by the name of Moganned", the agency said.

"Almost all acts of terror using suicide bombers in the last few years were prepared with the involvement of the Saudi national", it said.

Russia has been rocked by an airport bombing that killed 37 in January this year and twin suicide metro bombings last year which killed more than 40 people.