|
Caucasus Corpse Count
Fighting persisted Sunday in Chechnya, where an official in the Moscow-backed government said seven Russian servicemen and a Chechen police officer were killed in rebel attacks, clashes and land-mine explosions in the previous 24 hours. Two of the Russians were killed and six were wounded in a clash with rebels near the town of Achkhoi-Martan on Saturday, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. He said a grenade fired from a launcher hit an armored personnnel carrier during the fighting. Four of servicemen were killed and six others were wounded in rebel attacks on Russian outposts in the war-ravaged region in southwestern Russia, according to the official, who said there were 14 such attacks in the past day. The seventh serviceman died, and three were wounded, when their armored personnel carrier detonated a mine in the capital Grozny early Sunday, he said.The Chechen officer was fatally shot by a gunman from a passing car in the town of Argun on Saturday, the official said. He said Russian artillery targeted suspected rebel positions in two southern districts, and at least 250 were rounded up in security sweeps. Chechen civilians and human rights groups accuse Russian forces of major human rights violations during the security operations. Posted by: Dan Darling 2004-05-24 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=33774 |