Russia has greeted the killing of Osama bin Laden as a “major success” in the global fight against terrorism, even as experts warned of a terrorist backlash to avenge the death of the al-Qaeda leader.
“Russia was one of the first to come up against the threat of global terrorism and unfortunately knows firsthand what al Qaeda is,” the Kremlin said in an official statement posted on its website.
“Retribution to all terrorists is inexorable,” the statement said. “Only joint coordinated battle against terrorism can bring tangible results. Russia is ready for stepping up this cooperation.”
The Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the U.S. blow to the al-Qaeda had “universal significance” as a “clear signal that terrorism is… doomed and that punishment for its atrocities is inevitable.”
The elimination of Osama marks “momentous success, not only for the U.S. security forces, but also for all those who are working to defeat terrorism,” said Viktor Ozerov, head of the Defence and Security Committee in the Federation Council, the upper house of the Russian Parliament.
The parliamentarian voiced the hope that the death of the world's Number 1 terrorist would weaken al-Qaeda, which has fomented terrorism in Russia and masterminded many terrorist attacks in the North Caucasus.
However, experts cautioned against complacency.
The death of Osama will not bring about an end to al-Qaeda, said a Russian security service officer.
“This loss will no doubt deal a moral blow to al-Qaeda, but will not disorganise the terrorist network,” the RIA news agency quoted the officer as saying. “We will soon learn the name of his successor and he may turn out to be even more radical.”
“Terrorism is spreading to ever more countries largely because leading nations differ in their views on how this evil should be combated,” a security official said.
A senior military analyst warned of a possibility of new terror attacks in the U.S. and other countries.
“As long as there is feeding ground for terrorism, as in North Caucasus, new terrorist leaders will rise and new terror strikes will be mounted,” said Major General (retired) Pavel Zolotaryov, the deputy head of the Moscow-based Institute for U.S. and Canada Studies.
