MOSCOW (Islamweb & Agencies) - Russia's military said on Friday that Chechen Resistance had attacked one of its helicopters, killing a serviceman on board, the day after another helicopter crashed in the separatist region, killing nine. (Read photo caption below).
The Resistance said the two incidents were part of a series of strikes on Russian helicopters. A spokesman said the Resistance had downed four in the past two days.
Russian officials reported only two incidents.
Chechnya's elected president, Aslan Maskhadov, appealed on Friday to G7 industrialized nations at their summit in Genoa, Italy, to bear in mind the misery of Russia's military campaign and help start talks with Moscow.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is to join G7 leaders for political talks on Saturday.
Twenty-one months into their second post-Soviet campaign to defeat Republicans, Russian troops maintain nominal control over most of the republic of Chechnya in Russia's Caucasus but come under daily attacks from the Republican Resistance.
The Kremlin vows to press the campaign to root out what it calls extremism it claims is inspired and financed from abroad and rules out talks with the Resistance, saying it has no legitimate negotiating partners.
Resistance groups have killed more than 40 officials connected to the local pro-Moscow administration set up in Chechnya to restore normal life. An administrator blown up outside her home south of the main city Grozny became the latest victim on Friday.
GUNSHIP TARGETED
A Resistance spokesman speaking by telephone from an undisclosed location, said the Resistance had downed the Mi-8 at Engenoi and shot down another Mi-8 and an Mi-24 helicopter gunship on Thursday near the Grozny suburb of Argun, in addition to the helicopter struck on Friday.
Russian media had reported the Engenoi crash on Thursday, saying the aircraft had struck the ground and burst into flames. The reports described the probable cause of the crash as overloading, although officials did not confirm this.
Interfax also reported an attack on a Russian military convoy in Grozny, a city largely devastated by Russian advances in the two wars. Three soldiers were injured.
In Moscow, the government minister coordinating efforts to restore Chechnya, Vladimir Yelagin, said refugees in adjacent regions would not return home until the Russian military halted ''sweep'' search operations.
He said about 1,800 people were leaving for Ingushetia, Chechnya's neighboring republic, each month.
PHOTO CAPTION:
Nine crack Russian troops died when a helicopter crashed to the ground outside a mountain village in Chechnya. Chechen Resistance said they shot it down, but Russian officials say the cause has yet to be ascertai