Chechnya mines kill six Russians

VLADIKAVKAZ, Russia -- Three land mine blasts in Chechnya have killed six Russian servicemen.

The deaths on Friday were announced as Russian positions came under fresh attack by rebels from the breakaway republic.

One of the mines detonated when an army jeep drove over the explosive device, killing two servicemen and wounding three, an anonymous Chechen official told The Associated Press on Saturday.

Heavy clashes were also reported between a special task force and rebels in the Vedeno Region of southern Chechnya.

Russian sappers inspected 80 kilometres (50 miles) of railways in the region and defused 30 explosive devices. Two rebels were killed, and three Russian soldiers wounded during exchange of fire, according to AP.

Russian forces also engaged in air and artillery bombardment of suspected rebel positions in Vedeno and the Nozhai-Yurt district of Chechnya, the official said.

Seven people have been detained on the suspicion of having links with illegal armed groups, according to the ITAR-Tass news agency.

Russia withdrew its forces from Chechnya in 1996, after a prolonged, humiliating war against pro-independence rebels. Following a series of bombings in three Russian cities, which killed about 300 people, a new conflict was sparked during the autumn of 1999. The blasts were blamed on the rebels.

Although large-scale battles have died out, Russian forces are still being worn down by hit-and-run attacks carried out by rebels.

Extensive efforts have been made by the Russian military to inspect land where land mines are suspected to be deployed. Sappers checked about 960 kilometres (600 miles) of roads on Wednesday, and defused five land mines, according to a recent report by the Interfax-Military News Agency.