Moscow - Russian special forces killed at least 10 alleged Islamist resistance fighters Friday in the breakaway republic of Chechnya, Russian authorities told the Interfax agency Friday. The special forces fired missiles at the rebels' position from an attack helicopter in the mountainous, violence-wracked North Caucasus region of Russia, the officials said.
Chechnyan President Ramzan Kadyrov, this week promoted to the rank of major general by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, praised the operation as an "exceptionally good result."
Observers say that violence in the region is getting ever more out of control.
Three women were killed in a bombing while mourning at the grave of their murdered loved one, a police officer, on Friday. Criminal groups, Islamists, and Russian security forces are engaged in ongoing combat.
The resistance fighters aim for an independent Caucasus emirate. Medvedev gave the Chechnyan special forces permission to carry out anti-terror operations in the entire North Caucasus region.
The special forces can therefore now be deployed in regions of southern Russia that do not border on Chechnya.
