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Rebels kill 21 police in Chechnya

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The death toll in single incident was the worst in Chechnya for some time  


GROZNY, Russia -- At least 21 riot police officers were killed when a land mine ripped through a convoy in the Chechen capital Grozny, the Moscow-run Chechen administration said.

The attack -- the biggest rebel offensive in months -- came a day after 11 Russian servicemen were killed and 13 wounded in two rebel attacks in the southern Shatoi region.

The Grozny explosion came just 100 metres from Chechnya's main police headquarters. The first car in the convoy hit a remote-controlled mine, and rebels then opened fire on the line of cars, the official said.

A reporter for The Associated Press in Grozny said the gunfire lasted for about 15 minutes.

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Two other devices were found but did not explode.

The blast happened as Russian President Vladimir Putin was making his annual State of the Union speech in Moscow and insisting that the military operation in Chechnya could be considered "accomplished."

"It was completed by the courage and heroism of the Russian army and its special forces," he said, adding that "peaceful life is being disturbed by allies of the rest of the bandits."

CNN's Jill Dougherty in Moscow said explosions in Chechnya were a daily occurrence but the death toll from Thursday's blast was more than in any recent attack.

Russian troops launched a sweep of the capital, blocking all main roads in the city.

The Interfax news agency quoted Bislan Gantamirov, the deputy premier of the Chechen government, as saying that five suspects in the attack had been detained, one after being wounded by gunfire.

NTV television reported that 12 reporters and cameramen from the local Chechen television station had been detained.

While mine explosions are frequent in Grozny, as they are across Chechnya, Thursday's attack appeared to have taken the Russian military by surprise, AP reported.

Military intelligence officers had predicted an upsurge in rebel activity in May, concentrated in the rugged mountains of the south, and had taken steps to start reinforcing Russian positions there, the Chechen administration official said.

Security was increased in the Vedeno, Itum-Kale and Urus-Martan regions but not in Grozny itself.

Russian troops fought a 1994-96 war in Chechnya against the separatists but were forced to retreat, leaving the region with de facto independence.

They returned in 1999 after rebel incursions into neighbouring Russian regions and after apartment-house bombings blamed on the rebels killed more than 300 in Russian cities.



 
 
 
 






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