Chechen video challenges Russia's claim war is over

Dramatic images released yesterday of the moment 17 pro-Russian special police died at the hands of Chechen rebels have caused acute embarrassment at the Kremlin.

The Russian government has repeatedly declared it has won the war against separatists, but the footage of the rebel attack broadcast on a Chechen rebel website suggests otherwise.

The two-minute video, shot from a distance of about 100 metres, showed a Soviet-made bus being ripped apart by a powerful explosion as it drove at speed down a country road. The blast appeared to be caused by a mine or booby trap.

An accompanying commentary said the vehicle contained 15 Russian and Chechen "spetznaz" special purpose police on their way to a security sweep in a village near the Chechen capital of Grozny last Tuesday.

After the blast, one survivor was seen staggering from the shredded and burning remains of the bus.

About a dozen rescuers appeared and began frantically searching the wreckage. As gunfire started,a second, smaller, explosion erupted among the searchers. The commentary said another two died in that explosion.

Russian news reports acknowledged last week that two local Chechen police officers were killed when their vehicle struck a mine.

But the video, which can be downloaded from the Russian-language page of the website (www.kavkazcenter.com), appeared to show a far more destructive attack.

The commentary claimed that 17 Chechen "collaborators" and Russian "occupiers" died in the ambush.

If genuine, the video would be an important propaganda victory for Chechen rebels in their efforts to convince the world that their struggle is still alive and that they remain able to strike at Russian forces within sight of Grozny.

In a wave of attacks over the weekend, rebels opened fire on Russian positions 15 times, killing at least eight soldiers and wounding several others, news agencies reported.

Using mortars, machine- guns and grenade launchers, dozens of rebels assaulted a Russian military barracks in the village of Yalkhoi-Molk, in the Kurchaloy region of southeastern Chechnya, on Saturday, killing two Russian soldiers.

Two Russian invasions of Chechnya in the past eight years to put down a separatist rebellion have killed an estimated 100,000 civilians and forced nearly a third of the tiny republic's population of one million into refugee camps.

But the rebels, who enjoyed widespread sympathy after the latest Russian invasion in 1999, have been facing growing isolation in world public opinion since Moscow joined America began its war on terrorism almost two years ago. In recent months, Washington has listed three Chechen groups on its terrorism "watch list".

Last week, for the second year running, America refused to back a resolution condemning Russia's war in Chechnya in the United Nations Human Rights Commission, and the measure failed.

The Kremlin claims that the rebels are a spent force, and that the republic is returning to peace under the pro-Moscow administration of Akhmad Kadyrov.

In a referendum last month, Chechens voted overwhelmingly for a new republican constitution, under which Mr Kadyrov is expected to be elected president later this year.