KHANKALA. May 18 (Interfax-AVN) - Some 20 rebels were destroyed in Chechnya in the past week bringing the total number of guerillas eliminated in the Chechnya campaign to 13,004, a spokesman for the unified federal headquarters told Interfax- Military News Agency on Saturday.
"In the past week, federal forces and policemen carried out over 130 special and 28 pin-point operations in 34 localities of the republic," the spokesman said. Federals also destroyed 54 arms and ammo caches, three extremist bases and six camps in mountains. Search, reconnaissance and raid parties seized some 100 assault rifles and pistols, 38 portable antitank grenade launchers, a mortar, three portable flame-throwers, about 60,000 cartridges and 35kg of explosives.
According to the spokesman, "artillery accomplished some 300 firing missions in Chechnya in a week." It inflicted strikes on rebel groups in the mountainous part of the republic, hammered extremist bases and camps, provided fire support to motorized rifle units that were moving towards the areas when rebel groups had been detected. The artillery attacks also resulted in the elimination of four rebel camps and seven dug-outs, as well as in the dispersion of two rebel groups found by scouts in ambushes on motorcade routes.