| Rebel attacks killed four Russian soldiers and one policeman in Chechnya over the last 24 hours, an official in the Moscow-backed Chechen administration said Saturday. Rebels fired on Russian positions 15 times in the past day, killing three soldiers and wounding six, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Soldiers clashed with rebels outside Yandi village in the Achkhoi-Martan district. One soldier was killed. Two rebels also died, and a third was wounded, the Chechen official said. Another clash outside the Dubai-Yurt village left four soldiers wounded. Two rebels were killed, the official said. In the Urus-Martan district, a gunmen opened fire on a Chechen policeman, wounding him. Another Chechen policeman died in an attack outside Novy Sharoi village in the Achkhoi-Martan district. Russian troops rounded up 160 people over the last 24 hours in security sweeps aimed at flushing out rebels hiding among the civilian population. |