Twenty-three people, including two police officers and 18 rebels, were killed over the weekend in Russia's breakaway republic of Chechnya, Russian agencies said today.
Some of the deaths occurred when separatists attacked several key posts, including a police station, the public prosecutor's office and administrative buildings in Ashkoi-Martan 30 kilometres (21 miles) southwest of Grozny, a reporter said.
The agency Interfax, quoting a senior local government official, said among those killed during the two-hour-long attack were two police officers. Agencies did not give details of the number of rebels killed in the attack.
A senior pro-Russian official in the republic was also killed some 20 kilometres south of Grozny, Interfax said. Another civilian was killed in the same locality, an official said.
Itar Tass said Russian forces had killed 18 rebel Chechens over the weekend.
AFP