Aslan Maskhadov, the Chechen rebel leader killed by Russian troops last month, has been buried in a secret grave after the authorities refused to return his body to his family, Interfax news agency reported on Friday. "Maskhadov has been buried and the location of his grave will not be disclosed," said Nikolai Shepel, deputy prosecutor general in charge of southern Russia. The killing of Maskhadov, a former Soviet army colonel elected Chechen president during the rebel region's short-lived independence in 1996-2000, was the highest profile killing by Russian forces since they brought the province back under direct rule.
