| Russian forces clashed with rebels in several parts of Chechnya, leaving at least eight soldiers dead and 10 wounded in the past day, said an official in the Moscow-backed Chechen administration on Friday. Four of the deaths came in rebel attacks on Russian positions, which came under fire 18 times in the previous 24 hours, said the official who asked to remain anonymous. One servicemen was killed and four were wounded in an attack on a military vehicle. Another soldier was shot and killed not far from his barracks in Bamut, in Western Chechnya, said the official. Two military engineers were killed while trying to defuse a mine, he said. A Chechen policeman was killed in the capital, Grozny, according to the official, who gave no estimate of rebel casualties. Russian forces used aircraft and artillery against suspected rebel positions in southern Chechnya, and detained at least 150 people on suspicion of aiding the rebels, the official said. |