| A series of bombs set three oil wells ablaze in Russia's rebel Chechnya region, officials said yesterday, and one was quoted as saying the damage could reach 500 million roubles ($A24.2 million). A spokesman for state oil company Rosneft, which runs oil facilities in Chechnya still functioning despite nine years of separatist war, said four bombs had exploded. "There were explosions at four oil wells, and three are still burning. It is not clear who did this, and we are still trying to put out the fires," the spokesman said. "It was a deliberate attack." A local industry official was quoted by Interfax news agency as saying putting out the fires would be very difficult, and would cause the high clean-up costs. According to figures from Chechnya's interior ministry, 17 pro-Moscow servicemen were killed in fighting with rebels over the last week. The ministry said 15 rebels had been killed. |