American Patriot
04-12-2004, 08:24 PM
Eleven Russian soldiers reported killed in Chechnya
By YURI BAGROV
The Associated Press
4/12/04 2:43 PM
MOSCOW (AP) -- Chechnya rebels killed 10 Russian soldiers, including five whose convoy was shelled Monday while driving through an insurgent stronghold, an official in the Kremlin-backed Chechen administration said.
An 11th soldier was killed when a military vehicle drove over a land mine in the breakaway republic, the official said on condition of anonymity.
The convoy was shelled near Shali, at the edge of the foothills of the southern mountains where rebels are believed to be concentrated, the official said. Nine other soldiers were wounded, he said.
Five other soldiers were killed and six were wounded by rebel fire on Russian military positions during a 24-hour period.
Such scattered attacks, often fatal, are reported almost daily in Chechnya, where the large-scale offensives that marked the early part of the war have ended. Separatist rebels also attack Russian forces with land mines and remote-controlled explosives.
Russian forces responded with air and artillery strikes aimed at uprooting rebels from positions in the south, the official said.
The Russian military pulled out of Chechnya in 1996 after rebels fought them to a standstill in a 20-month war, leaving Chechnya de-facto independent and largely lawless.
Russian forces swept in again in 1999 after Chechnya-based fighters launched raids into neighboring Dagestan and after about 300 people died in apartment bombings that officials blamed on Chechen separatists.
By YURI BAGROV
The Associated Press
4/12/04 2:43 PM
MOSCOW (AP) -- Chechnya rebels killed 10 Russian soldiers, including five whose convoy was shelled Monday while driving through an insurgent stronghold, an official in the Kremlin-backed Chechen administration said.
An 11th soldier was killed when a military vehicle drove over a land mine in the breakaway republic, the official said on condition of anonymity.
The convoy was shelled near Shali, at the edge of the foothills of the southern mountains where rebels are believed to be concentrated, the official said. Nine other soldiers were wounded, he said.
Five other soldiers were killed and six were wounded by rebel fire on Russian military positions during a 24-hour period.
Such scattered attacks, often fatal, are reported almost daily in Chechnya, where the large-scale offensives that marked the early part of the war have ended. Separatist rebels also attack Russian forces with land mines and remote-controlled explosives.
Russian forces responded with air and artillery strikes aimed at uprooting rebels from positions in the south, the official said.
The Russian military pulled out of Chechnya in 1996 after rebels fought them to a standstill in a 20-month war, leaving Chechnya de-facto independent and largely lawless.
Russian forces swept in again in 1999 after Chechnya-based fighters launched raids into neighboring Dagestan and after about 300 people died in apartment bombings that officials blamed on Chechen separatists.