Chechen rebels say they have launched a large-scale offensive across the breakaway republic of Chechnya, seizing buildings and shooting down a helicopter. A spokesman for rebel Chechen President Aslan Maskhadov told the French AFP news agency that the rebels had gained total control of Gudermes, the republic's second biggest city, and of Nozhai-Yurt, a town in the south-east. Russian officials initially denied that a major attack was in progress, but have now said the situation in Gudermes is complicated and it is not yet clear whether the city has been recaptured.
At least 10 Russian soldiers, including two generals, are thought to have been killed in the attack on the helicopter near the Chechen capital Grozny. |