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Russian special operations stepping up in Chechnya
A group of militants has been eliminated as a result of an ongoing raid in Kurchaloi district of Russia's southern republic of Chechnya. A day earlier the rebels entered the village of Alleroi, Ramzan Kadyrov, first deputy head of the pro-Moscow Chechen government and head of the presidential security guard service, told Interfax. The group was almost fully eliminated, he said. "Thanks to measures taken without delay our forces succeeded in ousting the rebels from Alleroi. They have suffered substantial casualties. Five bodies have already been discovered in the village and in the vicinity, but, according to operative reports, the number of eliminated rebels is much higher," Kadyrov told Interfax by phone, talking from Alleroi.Special raids, carried out by federal troops, continued throughout Chechnya in the early hours of Friday. Those operations are aimed at apprehending and eliminating separatist leaders Shamil Basayev and Aslan Maskhadov, Ilya Shabalkin, a spokesman for anti-terror operations in the Northern Caucasus, told RIA-Novosti news agency. He confirmed Ramzan Kadyrov's report on the successful raid carried out in Kurchaloi. According to Shabalkin, four rebels were killed near the village of Mairtup and two — near Alleroi. All of them belonged to a rebel unit headed by Avdorkhanov and were personal bodyguards of Aslan Maskhadov. Another rebel group was discovered in Shali district. Federal forces attacked them with mortar fire. Later two rebels were killed in a clash with Russian commando troops. The identities of the dead rebels are being established, Shabalkin said. Posted by: Dan Darling 2004-09-24 |
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