Rebels in Chechnya killed nine Russian soldiers in separate attacks, an official with the Kremlin-backed Chechen administration said yesterday. Five died when rebels shelled Russian outposts across the region. A further four were killed when Russian military convoys hit landmines near the town of Shali and the village of Tangi-Chu in Chechnya’s southern mountains. In Chechnya’s capital, Grozny, rebels clashed with pro-Moscow police officers on Monday, wounding two of them. One rebel was killed in the clash. In Dagestan, which borders Chechnya to the east, a Federal Security Bureau officer was wounded on Monday after an attack on his car. He is said to be in a grave condition in hospital. Unidentified attackers also blew up the house of a police official in Ingushetia, a province west of Chechnya. The man was unhurt. It was unclear whether the violence in Dagestan and Ingushetia on Monday was linked to the Chechnya war.
| My guess would be that it was... |
Russian forces launched artillery barrages on suspected rebel camps in Chechnya’s southern mountains and conducted security sweeps in which at least 220 people were detained. |