At least two Chechen policemen and two separatist fighters were reported dead after a rebel attack over the weekend on the mayor's headquarters in the war-shattered capital Grozny, news agencies said Monday.
Four policemen guarding the building were wounded, two of whom were hospitalized with serious injuries, pro-Moscow Chechen police told the ITAR-TASS news agency.
Ten people were arrested on suspicion of involvement in the Sunday attack which lasted some 50 minutes and ended when federal reinforcements arrived on the scene.
Bislan Gantamirov, mayor of Grozny since October, said on state RTR television late Sunday that he "was lucky to have just left for Moscow and therefore missed the attack."
Gantamirov, whose pro-Moscow militia fought alongside Russian troops when they captured the city early this year, said that the mayor's office is attacked "two or three times per week."
"The administration may not want to admit it, but the rebels move around the capital very easily," he added.
Gantamirov's home in the village of Gekhi, 20 kilometers (12 miles) south-west of Grozny was attacked earlier this month by some 120 fighters. The mayor was not at home at the time.
Between 300 and 500 rebels are thought to be hiding in Grozny's ruins.
Elsewhere, a Russian soldier was reported killed and two others wounded in a rebel grenade attack in Grozny, ITAR-TASS reported. Rebels subsequently fled the scene.
More than 14 months after Russia launched its military intervention in secessionist Chechnya on October 1, 1999, up to 2000 rebels continue to harass federal troops and target Chechens collaborating with Moscow -- MOSCOW (AFP)
© 2000 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
