This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/europe/8499848.stm
The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Chechnya militants kill soldiers | Chechnya militants kill soldiers |
| (20 minutes later) | |
| Militants have killed five Russian soldiers in the troubled North Caucasus region of Chechnya, officials say. | Militants have killed five Russian soldiers in the troubled North Caucasus region of Chechnya, officials say. |
| The gunfight broke out on Thursday night in forested mountains south-west of the region's capital Grozny, Russia's interior ministry said. | |
| Russia's Itar-Tass news agency said six more soldiers were wounded in the skirmish against some 15 militants. | Russia's Itar-Tass news agency said six more soldiers were wounded in the skirmish against some 15 militants. |
| Unrest continues in Chechnya despite Russia saying last year normality had returned after a decade-long campaign. | Unrest continues in Chechnya despite Russia saying last year normality had returned after a decade-long campaign. |
| The troops' platoon commander, the section commander and a sniper were among those killed, in one of the worst single incident death tolls suffered by Russian security forces in recent months. | |
| Six insurgents were killed in a separate incident in the region on Thursday, according to the office of Chechnya's pro-Moscow president, Ramzan Kadyrov. | |
| Russian forces have fought two wars against separatists in the mainly Muslim republic of Chechnya since 1994. The conflicts claimed more than 100,000 lives and left the region in ruins. | |
| Although Chechnya has in recent years been more peaceful, sporadic violence continues, and President Dmitry Medvedev says violence in the North Caucasus remains Russia's biggest domestic problem. | |
| In recent years the fighting has spread to nearby Dagestan and Ingushetia, where correspondents say a violent Islamist insurgency is growing. |