One-armed ISIS warlord behind Istanbul massacre ‘was due to be sent to Russia on terror charges… but court ruled it breached his human rights’
Chechen extremist Akhmed Chataev is thought to control as many as 130 ISIS militants
A ONE-ARMED ISIS militant who masterminded the Istanbul airport terror attack had his extradition to Russia refused because of his refugee status.
Akhmed Chataev was arrested in Bulgaria in 2011 for terrorism offences.
But due to a ruling by a Bulgarian judge, the Chechen warlord could not be sent back because he was a registered refugee in Austria.
Chataev was detained by Turkish police today on suspicion of being part of an ISIS cell that masterminded the attack on an Istanbul airport.
He was taken into custody along with 11 foreigners after three suicide bombers killed 43 and injured hundreds on Tuesday evening.
It was suspected that the mastermind of the attack came from Chechnya, in southern Russia.
The one-armed extremist is identified on a United Nations list of ISIS trainers.
The UN Security Council believe that Chataev is in control of up to 130 trainers.
The news comes as neighbours of the Istanbul bombers have told of how they smelt the extremists making the explosives.
A woman in the same apartment building said: "There were strange smells.
"It was like a gas and it never went.
"We heard clicking sounds and we think they were making bomb."
The suicide bombers had a reinforced flat in the Fatih suburb of Istanbul.
The flat was guarded with a steel door.
The mysterious men paid three months rent up front for the flat.
Another neighbour revealed that she went to officials about the men because they seemed suspicious.
She said that she asked an official “if he knew who they are.
“And the muhtar (community leader) told me not to worry.”
He reportedly said: “We know everything.”
The warlord, who joined ISIS in 2015, is thought to have been imprisoned in Russia in the early 2000s.
According to reports, Chataev was jailed for fighting in the second Chechen war for independence from Russia.
It is around this time that his arm was mysteriously chopped off.
He claims that his arm was chopped off while he was serving time in the prison.
But other reports say that the arm was amputated after the extremist suffered an injury.
Others even say that he lost the limb while fighting.
In 2003, the jihadist fled to Austria, claiming refugee status.
Chataev was arrested again in 2008 in Sweden.
He was caught by cops in the port of Trelleborg, where they found Kalashnikov rifles, ammunition and explosives.
According to Russian reports, the Chechen spent a year behind bars for the possession of the weapons.
In 2011, Chataev was detained by Bulgarian police as Russia had issued an arrest warrant for him.
They wanted him for "participation in an armed group and for the recruitment of persons for terrorism and for financing terrorism.”
But because he had claimed his refugee status in Austria, a country that are signatories to the Geneva Convention, the judge refused to extradite him.
Since Bulgaria are also part of the Convention, they could not send Chataev back to Russia.
But the extremist was arrested just a year later in Georgia.
Cops found Chataev in the Lopota Gorge with a group of Russian Islamist insurgents.
They were reportedly fighting against Russian troops in the Northern Caucasus.
But in January 2013, the jihadist mastermind was cleared of all charges.
Former Georgian interior minister Vakhtang Gomelauri said this year: ";He was released lawfully, whether it was a mistake or not."
According to Russian sources, Chataev joined ISIS in 2015 and started to train youngsters to perform acts of terrorism.
Yesterday, the Chechen was named as the mastermind behind the shocking attack on Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport.
Three suicide bombers entered the airport on Tuesday evening, opening fire on police by the security scanners.
The three bombs detonated in the arrivals lounge, the departures area and the car park.
Security sources say that Chataev was creating terror cells to be sent back to Russia.
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