Four Dead In Chechnya Clashes

(RFE/RL) 29 December 2005 -- An official from the Kremlin-backed Chechen administration says three Russian soldiers and one pro-Moscow Chechen military officer have been killed in fighting in the province.

The official said Russian troop positions came under fire from separatist rebels 13 times in a 24-hour period, killing one soldier and injuring five.

Two other soldiers were killed and another two injured when their truck came under fire near Vedeno in southern Chechnya.

A firefight in the Nozhai-Yurt region in eastern Chechnya yesterday left one pro-Moscow fighter dead and one injured. Two rebels were also killed.

Russian forces suffer daily casualties in the guerrilla war in the southern province, despite Kremlin-led efforts at a "political normalization" of the conflict.

(AFP)