Umarov escapes

Hopes that the security forces had killed North Caucasus warlord Doku Umarov in last week’s air strike on an insurgent base were seemingly dashed as reports emerged that he could well be alive and back online soon.

Yunus-Beka Yevkurov, head of the Republic of Ingushetia, said there was no way yet of confirming the death or escape of the wanted man, “The remains (found on the site of the attack) have not yet been fully examined and we cannot yet guarantee that he is alive or dead,” he told Kommersant. But a goggle-eyed public will not have to wait long, “If this bandit is alive the fact will soon be confirmed on the internet,” a special services source said.