REBEL attacks and land-mine blasts in Chechnya killed six Russian soldiers, two Chechen policemen and wounded 14 people over the past day. Five Russian soldiers were killed and seven more wounded as federal outposts came under rebel fire 16 times in the previous 24 hours. In a clash in the Itum-Kale district, one soldier was killed and two were wounded. Two rebels were also killed. Another two servicemen were wounded when a military vehicle exploded on a land mine outside Novogrozny village in the Gudermes district. The Chechen policemen died in a shootout in Grozny’s Oktyabrsky district last night. Rebels often target Chechen police as punishment for their cooperation with federal authorities.
An unknown explosive, which went off in a street in the Makhkety village of Vedeno district this morning, injured three local residents. Meanwhile, Russian forces targeted suspected rebel positions and groups in Itum-Kale, Vedeno and Nozhai-Yurt districts with artillery and detained at least 140 people during security sweeps. |