Al-Qaeda has 'strong links' with North Caucasus militants : Russia

Moscow, Oct 5 : Russia today said radical militants active in the country's North Caucasus Muslim-dominated republics have strong links to the Al-Qaeda international terrorist network.

''Al-Qaeda has evolved into a movement uniting cells across the world on an ideological footing. It has sustained contacts with regional extremist organisations: Jamia Islamia in Maghreb and in Southeast Asia, and Imarat Kavkaz in Russia," Russia's Security Council chief Nikolai Patrushev Patrushev said in the Black Sea resort of Sochi today at an international meeting of high-level security officials from over 44 countries.

This is the first time the meeting is being held on Russia‘s initiative, the Security Council said.

''Among the meeting participants will be Security Council secretaries, presidential and prime ministers’ aides on national security, ministers from 44 countries, UN representatives, and representatives of the Russian executive bodies,'' the Security Council officials told Interfax news agency.

The Russian Security Council said the two-day conference will discuss the issues relating to cooperation on meeting common challenges and threats, specifically, prevention and liquidation of the consequences of natural and man-made disasters, transnational crime, interrelation between its most dangerous types, including terrorism, drug trafficking, illegal migration, illegal weapons and radioactive materials turnover, and also piracy and threats to international information security