Antiterrorism police in Istanbul arrested Z.M., a Russian national of Chechen origin, on suspicion of assassinating Abdullah Bukhari, 38, a dissident Uzbek religious leader in the city. On Dec. 5, Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov claimed that Akhmat Umarov, a brother of late Caucasus Emirate leader Doku Umarov, was behind the deadly Dec. 4 attack in Grozny and demanded his extradition from Turkey. Turkish police arrested at least 31 people, including the editor of a leading newspaper, in simultaneous raids conducted in 13 provinces in a crackdown on opposition media. Police officers who had investigated al Qaeda cells in Turkey were also targeted.
