UPDATE...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4337100.stm
Last Updated: Thursday, 13 October 2005, 07:27 GMT 08:27 UK
"Clashes break out in N Caucasus"
ARTICLE SNIPPET: "Gunfire has been heard throughout the city
Fighting has erupted between police and rebels in government buildings, a school and airport in Russia's volatile North Caucasus region, say reports.
At least two suspected rebels have been killed and a policeman wounded in the clashes in Nalchik, the main city of Kabardino-Balkaria.
Children were being evacuated from the school as gunfire resounded around the town, said witnesses.
Kabardino-Balkaria is a Muslim region near war-ravaged Chechnya.
There have been several confrontations this year between the authorities and alleged extremists in the province.
"At the present moment, federal forces have clashed with certain armed bands," regional deputy state prosecutor, Nikolai Shepel, was quoted by Russia's Interfax news agency as saying.
"Steps are being taken to eliminate the bandits.""
Note: The following text is an exact quote:
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http://www.centcom.mil/CENTCOMNews/News_Release.asp?NewsRelease=20051040.txt
NEWS RELEASE
HEADQUARTERS UNITED STATES CENTRAL COMMAND
7115 South Boundary Boulevard
MacDill AFB, Fla. 33621-5101
Phone: (813) 827-5894; FAX: (813) 827-2211; DSN 651-5894
October 12, 2005
Release Number: 05-10-40
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
U.S. SOLDIERS STOP KIDNAPPER
BAGHDAD, Iraq -- After a car chase and gunfight, Task Force Baghdad Soldiers rescued a kidnap victim and killed one of the abductors around noon Oct. 11.
Acting on a tip about the kidnapping of a middle-age Iraqi man, Soldiers from 1st Squadron, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment planned a hasty attack in order to kill or capture the kidnappers. Within minutes, they identified the kidnappers’ vehicle and began a seven-kilometer chase that ended in west Baghdad.
The U.S. Soldiers were engaged with small-arms fire but managed to safely rescue the kidnap victim. During the exchange of gunfire, the 1/11th ACR Soldiers wounded one assailant, who was taken to the Abu Ghraib Prison Hospital where he later died.
The other kidnapper is currently in the custody of the Iraqi Police.
FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION CONCERNING THIS RELEASE, CONTACT TASK FORCE BAGHDAD PUBLIC AFFAIRS, SGT. FIRST CLASS DAVID ABRAMS AT DAVID.ABRAMS@ID3.ARMY.MIL.
UPDATE...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4337100.stm
Last Updated: Thursday, 13 October 2005, 09:00 GMT 10:00 UK
"'Several dead' in Caucasus clash"
ARTICLE SNIPPET: "Gunfire has been heard throughout the city
A number of police and rebels have been killed in fighting across a city in Russia's volatile North Caucasus area.
Civilians are also feared caught up in the clashes that spread to a school, airport and government buildings in Nalchik city, Kabardino-Balkaria.
A hospoital source told Moscow radio there were 20 "uniformed" bodies.
Kabardino-Balkaria, a Muslim area near war-ravaged Chechnya, has been the scene of several confrontations between authorities and alleged extremists.
A police official told Itar-Tass news agency that a number of police and militants had been killed.
"We are checking the information about fatalities at police stations and possible victims among civilians," he said.
A source at Nalchik's Republican Hospital told Ekho Moskvy radio that the dead who had been brought in were "all people in uniform".
At least 40 injured people had been taken to the hospital, with more arriving all the time, the source added."