Russia says damage inflicted on Chechen leaders

MOSCOW (Reuters) -- The head of Russia's paratroop forces said on Monday he had information the leaders of Chechen rebels had been wounded in recent months and pledged the separatist chiefs would eventually be totally destroyed.

The office of Russia's chief spokesman on the war, Sergei Yastrzhembsky, was also quoted as saying that the leader of a so-called Chechen death squad had been killed in the early hours of Monday.

Russian news agencies quoted paratroop commander General Georgy Shpak as saying he had intelligence information that Chechen President Aslan Maskhadov had been wounded two months ago and that Arab-born commander Khattab had been wounded a month ago.

Shpak, whose troops have suffered heavy losses in rebel ambushes, gave no further details.

Russia has several times reported the death or injury of Chechen leaders. Field commander Shamil Basayev, Russia's most wanted man, was actually wounded in February and had a foot amputated but it has not stopped him being active in the war.

"Sooner or later the leaders of the Chechen fighters will be destroyed. There is no way out for them from there alive," Russian agencies quoted Shpak as adding.

However, he said his troops were facing problems in tracking down the Chechen guerrillas as they were using horses and all-terrain vehicles to move around the hilly and mountainous south of the region and were maintaining radio silence.

Yastrzhembsky's office was also quoted as saying that the leader of the so-called death squad was killed after he resisted arrest in Chechen capital Grozny.

Russia has lost more than 2,000 troops in nearly 11 months of fighting in Chechnya but says it is still facing around 2,000 separatist rebels, many based in the south of the region.

Russia's control of the republic has been undermined by constant Chechen ambushes.

Its checkpoints are also often strafed during the night and its forces are forced daily to defuse mines.

Interfax news agency also quoted the military as saying that Russian fixed-wing assault planes took to the air 16 times in the last 24 hours to blast rebel targets while army helicopters carried out 30 missions.

The military said that after a clampdown on transport across the republic on Sunday more than 50 vehicles were seized. The move was apparently aimed at hampering rebel movement.

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