Ex-Russian commander said killed in Dubai

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, March 30 (UPI) -- Ex-Russian army commander Sulim Yamadayev was fatally shot by unknown assailants in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, a relative says.

The unnamed close family member told RIA Novosti by phone that Yamadayev died Monday. He had been shot Saturday.

The Russian consul general in Dubai hadn't confirmed the shooting victim was Yamadayev, a former commander of the Chechen Vostok battalion, the Russian news agency said. The United Arab Emirates also hadn't officially commented while the search for the attackers continued.

Yamadayev was fired from his post last August for his alleged involvement in the 1998 abduction and death of a Chechen businessman.

Yamadayev's brother, Ruslan Yamadayev, a former member of the Russian parliament's lower house and opponent of Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov, was gunned down in Moscow last September. Kadyrov has denied any role in his death.