| Russian forces used warplanes and artillery to pound rebel outposts in breakaway Chechnya as attacks and mine explosions killed four soldiers and wounded 12, an official said Sunday. Federal outposts were attacked 14 times, killing one soldier and wounding seven, while a Saturday attack on a jeep in the Chechen capital Grozny wounded four soldiers, an official in the Kremlin-appointed administration said. One soldier was killed and one wounded in a clash in the Vedeno region, while two soldiers died in a mine explosion in Shali region, the official said. Meanwhile, troops continue the hunt for a band of rebels who broke into the neighboring Dagestan region and killed nine border guards. The head of the security service’s border department in the region, Anatoly Zabrodin, told ITAR-Tass news agency that special forces, aircraft and artillery had homed in on a group of rebels hiding out in a gorge. Another group of as many as 12 rebels was also located in Dagestan, but forces hesitated from moving in because of the avalanche risk in the area. |