London: Britain arrests, releases Chechen wanted by Russia

Britain released a Chechen rebel envoy from police custody Friday, drawing sharp criticism from the Russian government, which compared the man to Osama bin Laden.

At Moscow’s request, British police arrested Akhmed Zakayev, an aide to Chechen separatist leader Aslan Maskhadov, when he arrived Thursday night at London’s Heathrow airport from Denmark.

British police freed Zakayev on $78,500 bail early Friday, ordering him to attend a Dec. 11 extradition hearing.

Moscow was furious.

Actress Vanessa Redgrave, who posted Zakayev’s bail and shelters his family in her London home, called Zakayev a supporter of peace.

Russian authorities say Zakayev was a senior Chechen military commander who helped to kill at least 300 Russian security personnel in 1996.

Indonesia: Bali bombing suspect shouts ‘America will be destroyed’

A key suspect in the Bali bombing cried out in Indonesian “America will be destroyed” as he was moved Friday from the capital to the resort island for more questioning.

Armed guards wearing face masks escorted Imam Samudra and four others for the charter flight to Bali.

Indonesian intelligence officials said Samudra took orders from Mukhlas, also known as Ali Gufron, the operational chief of Jemaah Islamiya, a Southeast Asian terror group that is linked to al-Qaida.

Mukhlas was arrested Tuesday. Police say he confessed to helping plan the Oct. 12 attack, which killed 185.

Washington, D.C.: Gun shop workers report seeing sniper suspect

Two employees said they saw sniper suspect John Lee Malvo earlier this year at a gun shop where the rifle used in the Washington-area shootings later went missing, according to an affidavit by federal agents.

The employees of Bull’s Eye Shooter Supply told agents they saw Malvo sometime before realizing in September that the rifle later used in the sniper shootings was missing from the store, according to search warrant documents released Friday.

The documents do not detail Malvo’s purported visit to the store, nor do they reveal how the rifle got into the hands of defendants Malvo, 17, and John Allen Muhammad, 41.

The men have been accused of shooting 18 people.