Chechen rebels ask Iraq group to free Russians

MOSCOW, June 20 (Reuters) Chechen rebels today demanded the release of four Russian diplomats being held by a group linked to Iraq's Al Qaeda, which wants Moscow to pull its troops out of Chechnya.

Akhmed Zakayev, the exiled foreign minister in the Chechen rebel ''government'', denied any links to the Mujahideen Shura Council that said it had abducted the diplomats on June 3.

The group ysterday gave Moscow 48 hours to quit Chechnya, where Russia has been battling separatists since 1994. In a statement published on the Internet, it also demanded the release of Muslims held in Russian jails.

''Chechnya's foreign ministry completely denies any Chechen participation in the international terrorist network and demands that the holders of the Russian diplomats release them without any conditions,'' Zakayev said in a statement posted on a rebel web site.

He said the Al Qaeda statement looked like an attempt to blacken the name of the Chechen separatist movement.

Extremist Chechens rebels have taken hostages in attempts to end the war in the past, most notably in 2002's Moscow ''Dubrovka'' theatre siege and the Beslan school siege of 2004.

The Kremlin rejected the hostage-takers' demands and a total of 460 Russians died in the two crises when troops were sent to free the buildings by storm.

Zakayev said the Kremlin's consistent refusal to negotiate in exchange for hostages' release showed the Iraq group's demands were unrealistic.

''These demands look more than a little naive, since the whole world knows how Russia used extreme force to deal with the hostages in Moscow's Dubrovka theatre and in the Beslan school.'' Russia's foreign ministry also appealed for the release of its diplomats, who the Islamists said had been abducted for being ''in support of the crusader project led by America''.

''Moscow has taken these reports seriously, and Russia is taking active steps to establish their authenticity. Currently nothing has reached us directly,'' said a ministry statement.

''Whatever considerations are guiding those who conducted this act, they cannot be justification for the kidnap of representatives of a country which energetically supports the return of peace to Iraqi land.'' Reuters CH GC1226