Russia received early notification of bin Laden's death

Moscow - The US informed Russia of the death of Osama bin Laden before releasing the news to the general public, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Monday.
The report came as the Russian leadership sought to draw parallels between the US' long search to track down the al-Qaeda leader and the Kremlin's ongoing campaign to suppress an Islamic insurgency in Russia's Caucasus Mountain region.
'The success of the US special forces, like the results of Russian special forces in the North Caucasus, in part against emissaries of al-Qaeda, have a universal significance,' the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Since the beginning of this year Russian forces in Chechnya, Ingushetia and Dagestan have killed 136 insurgents - four of them al- Qaeda operatives - in a series of raids and security sweeps, the Interfax new agency said, citing a government report.
Russia's success in fighting this insurgency and the killing of bin Laden are 'a clear signal of terrorism's lack of a future and the inevitable responsibility that evil-doers will face for their actions,' the Foreign Ministry said.