AP
Rebel commander Khattab in 1999

 According to a statement Monday released by the pro-rebel Kavkaz news agency, the insurgents said Khattab was killed March 19 by a poisoned letter and was buried at a site known only to his closest collaborators.

 Last week, Russian state television broadcast a videotape that appeared to show the body of the separatist leader. Russian officials said Khattab had been killed during a special operation in Chechnya in March.

 Officials said Russian soldiers retrieved the video after killing one of the rebel leader's closest aides in a shootout. 

Little is known about Khattab, who used only one name. Insurgents say separatist leader was born in Saudi Arabia. Other sources said he was of Jordanian origin. His exact age has been in dispute.

 Khattab is believed to have fought in Afghanistan before coming to Chechnya in the mid-1990s and reports say he may have had links to Osama bin Laden and the al-Qaida terrorist network.

 Russian President Vladimir Putin has said Khattab's death would be a blow to terrorism.

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