| Russian forces killed two foreign militants, allegedly Algerians, fighting with the insurgency in breakaway Chechnya, an official said Tuesday. The two men were killed Monday when Russian forces attacked a base in Chechnya’s Kurchaloi district, Ilya Shabalkin, spokesman for the regional center for counterterrorism operations, told the ITAR-Tass news agency. The two were identified as Binatin Yasin, an Algerian citizen born in 1979 who had permanent residency in Britain; and Larussi Osman, a citizen of Algeria or Britain who was between 30 and 35 years old, Shabalkin said. One other militant was killed and another two were wounded in the attack, while other rebels fled from the base, Shabalkin said. Nine soldiers were killed and five others were wounded in the past 24 hours, an official in the pro-Kremlin Chechen administration told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. |