6 Russian Soldiers Slain in Chechen Rebel Attacks

Rebels staged a series of attacks on federal facilities in Grozny, the capital of Chechnya, and other parts of the breakaway republic, killing six Russian soldiers and wounding 18, officials said Saturday.

The 27 rebel attacks included half a dozen on military checkpoints and offices in Grozny, an official of Chechnya’s pro-Russian government in Gudermes said on condition of anonymity.

Meanwhile, a Chechen family of four was shot to death overnight by unidentified assailants in Alkhan-Kala, a village south of Grozny, the official said. The attack highlighted the tensions in the republic--despite Russian claims that the war is near an end--and the trouble that Russia is having in establishing control over Chechnya and restoring order.

Villagers said Magomed Ismailov, his wife and two daughters were killed by Russian troops who were sweeping the village for rebels. But the Interfax news agency suggested that they were killed by Chechen rebels for collaborating with the Russians.

More than 1,000 residents of Alkhan-Kala rallied Saturday to protest the beating of civilians and looting of homes by Russian troops. Human rights groups have accused the military of excessive force in searching Chechen villages for rebels, but the military has denied any unnecessary violence.

The nearly 15-month-old war has seen little large-scale fighting for months, but the rebels have inflicted steady casualties with daily raids by small, mobile groups and with road mines.

The Russian military command said Saturday that it was launching a “large-scale operation” in southeastern regions to purge them of rebels, the Itar-Tass news agency said.