| Russian forces shelled Chechnya's third-largest town, and fighting erupted in other parts of the republic, leaving at least three soldiers reported dead and eight wounded. Argun had been under Russian fire since Thursday as federal forces tried to flush out rebels, some of whom are believed to have fled another Russian operation in the nearby village of Tsotsin-Yurt. The fighting in Argun and Tsotsin-Yurt, east of Grozny, is some of the fiercest seen in Chechnya in recent months. |