Official killed as Moscow pursues Chechen offensive

Moscow8217;s top civilian representative in Chechnya, Nikolai Koshman, rushed to Chechnya to investigate his deputy8217;s death, his spokesman Yury Mikhailov told military news agency AVN. He denounced what he called a quot;planned terrorist act.quot; It was the first time a high-ranking Russian official has been killed in Chechnya since hostilities in the separatist republic resumed last October. The attack came as Russian troops continued to battle with rebels in Chechnya8217;s remote southern mountains, where an operation to crush dogged guerrilla resistance entered its third day on Wednesday.

Moscow says it has cornered at least 400 rebels in the Nozhai-Yurt and Vedeno districts in eastern and southeastern Chechnya, 8220;These are the best organized extremist units led by prominent field commanders, including Khattab a lieutenant of warlord Shamil Basayev,8221; military sources told the Interfax news agency. They said federal troops were also engaged in an operation against rebels in the village of Samashki West of the Chechen capital Grozny. A wood where a large guerrilla force was thought hidden was surrounded. At least 70 rebels have been killed so far in the offensive, while the Russian side has lost nine dead and over 30 wounded, according to the military.

Russian forces are trying to evade direct combat with the guerrillas, and are pounding them with Air strikes and heavy artillery, but cannot completely evade contact and are suffering casualties, the sources told Interfax. Russia8217;s top commander, Chief of Staff General Anatoly Kvashnin, is in the region monitoring operations. Moscow estimates some 3,000 fighters are still active in southern Chechnya, and government troops have so far failed to deliver a knock-out blow to the rebels, who have killed hundreds of Russian soliders in a series of bold raids this year.

The Chechen separatists made no immediate claim of responsbility for Tuesday night8217;s attack. Zverev had Left Grozny on his way to Urus-Martan, 25 kilometres 15 miles southwest of the capital. He was accompanied by the mayor of Grozny, Supyan Mokhchayev, who was injured in the explosion. President Vladimir Putin8217;s spokesman on Chechnya, Sergei Yastrzhembsky, however, suggested that the target was not Zverev but Grozny8217;s pro-Moscow mayor.

8220;It appears that the terrorist act was carried out against the Grozny mayor Mokhchayev, who has long been on the rebels8217; hit list,8221; Yastrzhembsky said, cited by Interfax. He added that the mayor was on his way to a meeting, which was public knowledge.

A Chechen woman in the car, Nurseda Khabuseyev, an assistant of the mayor, was also killed in the attack, Russian news agencies said. Meanwhile, one Russian soldier was killed and 14 wounded Wednesday when an explosive device went off near a military facility in the southern city of Volgograd, ITAR-TASS news agency said quoting officials.

The ministry of emergency situations immediately blamed a 8220;terrorist act8221; but it was not immediately clear if the incident was linked to the nine-month conflict in Chechnya. The ministry said the device had been attached to a tree and went off when a military convoy passed by after leaving the nearby facility, according to the agency. The death toll was revised down from earlier estimates, which said six soldiers had died and seven were injured.