Military Says Russian Troops Confess To Chechen Killings

(RFE/RL) 18 November 2005 -- The Russian military announced today that the three soldiers suspected of killing Chechen civilians earlier this week have confessed to the crime.

Maksim Toporikov, the chief military prosecutor in Chechnya, told the Interfax news agency that the soldiers have admitted to murdering three Chechen men with the aim of robbing them.

The bodies of the three men were uncovered two days ago near the village of Staraya Sunzha, near Grozny.

Earlier this month, Russian troops fired mortar shells at another Chechen village, wounding six of its residents. Military prosecutors have concluded it was an accident.

(with additional local radio reports)