KHANKALA. Oct 20 (Interfax-AVN) - About 700 guerrillas are still active in Chechnya, a competent source in the HQ of the Combined Federal Force in the North Caucasus told Interfax- Military News Agency on Monday.
"Combat guerilla teams, up to 700 men in strength, are still hiding in southeast Chechnya," he said.
According to the source, these teams report to Aslan Maskhadov, Shamil Basayev, and other prominent warlords. "Extremist leaders prepare suicide bomber and vehicle-mine terror attacks," the source said.
Last week, he went on, the federal forces in Chechnya destroyed six caches with weapons including two man-portable SAMs, four dug-outs, and a winter-sealed cave.
The Chechnya-deployed SU-24 Fencers and SU-25 Frogfoots logged over 50 sorties last week, in addition to about 400 assault and support sorties of MI-8 Hip, MI-24 Hind, and MI-26 Halo helicopters. The aviation destroyed a guerilla mountain base, a radio relay station, and five mountain paths were jammed, the source said.