Five Russian servicemen were killed and 12 wounded over the past day in Chechnya, where federal forces continued to shell suspected rebel positions and carry out security sweeps in search of insurgents, an official in the Moscow-backed regional administration said Friday. Three of the servicemen were killed in rebel attacks on Russian outposts, while one died when an armored personnel carrier hit a mine near Vedeno, in the south, and another was killed in a clash near Samashki in the west, the official said on condition of anonymity. Four rebels died in the fighting in Samashki, the official said, while...
