The death of Maskhadov, 53, would boost Russian President Vladimir Putin, who built his power largely on a tough line against the Chechen rebels.



The armed campaign which Maskhadov led had brought bombings to the very heart of Russia.



Russian television showed what it said was Maskhadov lying, bare-chested on his back in a pool of blood, with his arms spread out on either side. There was what appeared to be a bullet mark in his left cheek.



"A special operation was carried out by us in the village of Tolstoy-Yurt as a result of which the international terrorist and leader of the rebel group Aslan Maskhadov was killed," FSB Security Service chief Nikolai Patrushev told President Vladimir

Putin.





Four close comrades of Maskhadov had been detained,

Patrushev was shown on television telling Putin. He added that there had been no casualties among Russian security forces.



Putin asked Patrushev to double-check the report of

Maskhadov's death.



Maskhadov's envoy in London, Akhmed Zakayev, said he had no hard information but he thought the reports were true.



Moscow blames Maskhadov who has a $10m reward on his

head for a string of deadly operations in Russia, including an attack on a Moscow theatre, a bombing near the Kremlin and an action against a school in the south Russian town of Beslan.



It comes six months after 326 hostages - half of them children - died at the school in Beslan last year. Moscow also links Maskhadov, and field commander Shamil

Basayev, to groups that conducted attacks such as the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.



Recently Maskhadov had called for talks with Moscow on

Chechen demands for independence, but the Kremlin insists it will not negotiate with terrorists.



Some critics of Moscow's policies in Chechnya saw Maskhadov as more moderate than Basayev and a man with whom the Kremlin could negotiate.