Russian military commanders say their forces have defeated Chechen rebels deep in the Caucasus Mountains where fighting has been underway for weeks. General Gennady Troshev says several thousand Chechen fighters are on the run near the village of Ulus-Kert. The fighters are allegedly under the command of Chechnya's best-known warlords, Shamil Basayev and Khattab, who are Russia's most wanted men. Fighting also continues in the village of Komsomolskoye, where another rebel group is holding out against massive Russian firepower. Aircraft and artillery have been pounding the village for days.
Russian commanders claim the war in Chechnya is all but over.
But small groups of fighters have still been able to mount costly attacks against the Russians. Yesterday Russian officials said that 156 soldiers had been killed over the past week. They also admitted that over 80 Russian paratroopers were killed in an intense battle in the mountains. Russian commanders initially denied reports of the high death toll. The Chechen conflict is on the agenda of talks between Acting President Vladimir Putin and British Prime Minister Tony Blair.