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1 Russian soldier killed, 10 wounded in Chechnya
2008-10-24
ROSTOV-ON-DON, Russia - Rebel attacks in Russia's restive southern region of Chechnya killed one Russian soldier and wounded 10 other servicemen and police, officials said Friday. Chechnya has fought two separatist wars in the last 14 years against Russia. Large-scale battles ended years ago but Islamic rebels still mount hit-and-run raids and plant landmines against Russian federal troops and local authorities. Russia's Interior Ministry said the soldier died in a landmine explosion triggered by rebels in the southern Chechen village of Serzhen-Yurt. Two other soldiers were badly wounded in the explosion late Thursday, it said in a statement. Two other landmine explosions in the village of Goi-Chu wounded eight police officers, it said. Separatist violence often has spilled into neighboring regions in Russia's volatile North Caucasus. In the province of Ingushetia, unidentified gunmen fired on a Russian military helicopter while it was landing late Thursday near the village of Dattyh, but the ministry said no one on board was hurt. And in the village of Ordzhonikidzevskaya, in eastern Ingushetia, a group of masked gunmen broke into a slot machine hall and abducted 15 men Thursday. The regional Interior Ministry blamed the abduction on Islamic militants punishing those who violated Islamic rules against gambling.
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