Briton feared dead in Chechen skirmish

A British cameraman was feared dead yesterday after a fierce battle between Russian soldiers and Chechen rebels who had shot down one of their helicopters.

A body believed to be that of Roderick Scott,a cameraman for Frontline Television news, was found among the 30 or 40 rebels killed in the village of Galashki, in the Ingushetia region. At least 14 Russian soldiers were killed in the clash near the Chechen border, after guerrillas shot down and killed the two-man crew of a Russian helicopter gunship with a shoulder-fired rocket.

The rebels then tried to seize several bridges before being beaten back by the Russian onslaught, in which Mr Scott is thought to have died.

The British Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw, expressed "grave concern" that a Briton might have been killed by Russian troops, and said British officials in Moscow had contacted Russia's government.

Mr Scott, known to his colleagues as Roddy, was identified by his passport, which had been stamped with a Georgian visa. "The passport and visa numbers that we have been given match the ones we have on file for Roddy, so we are working on the assumption that it's him," a spokesman for Frontline Televisionsaid.

Russian officials said up to 300 Chechen rebels had crossed over the Georgian border into Russia some days ago, and launched an assault to take Galashki yesterday.

The Georgian link is sure to fuel Moscow's anger against its neighbour, which President Vladimir Putin accuses of doing nothing to stop Chechen rebels sheltering in its territory.