Five Russian soldiers were killed and four wounded when Russian positions came under fire a total of 19 times over the past 24 hours in Chechnya, an official said.- In a clash with rebels near Roshni-Chu in the south-western Urus-Martan region, four servicemen were wounded and one rebel was killed, the official in the Kremlin-backed Chechen administration said on condition of anonymity.
- Another three servicemen were injured when a military truck was blown up near the village of Alkhazurovo, also in the Urus-Martan district, the official said.
- Russian artillery and aviation pounded the Itum-Kale, Vedeno and Nozhai-Yurt districts and at least 170 people were detained in so-called "sweeping operations" designed to flush out rebels and supporters, he said.
- Also, Russian news agencies reported that a group of 15 rebels was destroyed during a two-week special operation in the Urus-Martan region. The reports did not make clear if all 15 had been killed. The group used falsified documents identifying them as members of various security structures to facilitate abduction of local residents, the ITAR-Tass news agency quoted Col Ilya Shabalkin, a spokesman for the Russian military operation in the region, as saying. In the group’s camp on the outskirts of the Tangi settlement, a list was found with the names of 21 people who they intended to kill, Shabalkin said. Among them were members of law enforcement agencies, he added.
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