Isa Munayev, who had been the rebel military commandant of Grozny, was killed Thursday when a group of rebels was trying to blow up a military truck, said Konstantin Makeyev, an aide to Kremlin spokesman Sergei Yastrzhembsky.
There was no immediate confirmation from the rebels?€™ side.
Munayev was among the rebels who have kept federal forces in Grozny and other nominally federally controlled areas on the defensive with ambushes, car bombs and mine explosions, officials said.
Such attacks have increased in recent months as federal forces have concentrated their air and artillery attacks on the mountainous south. An official in the pro-Moscow Chechen government in the northern town of Gudermes said Tuesday that federal positions had been attacked at least 19 times over the past 24 hours.
A Chechen woman was killed and six people were injured Tuesday when the bus they were riding in hit a mine near Noviye Atagi, 25 kilometers south of Grozny, Interfax reported.
Two members of the Federal Security Service were killed Monday when their truck hit a land mine that had been planted outside the southeastern town of Shali, the Gudermes official said.
Two soldiers were wounded in a shootout with rebels near Zhani-Vedeno, southeast of Grozny, the official said on condition of anonymity.
Rebels also engaged troops patrolling the border with Georgia in a 30-minute firefight, but no casualties were reported. The military claimed to have dispersed the rebels with heavy artillery bombardment of their retreat routes, the official said.
A Message from The Moscow Times:
Dear readers,
We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."
These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.
We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.
Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.
By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.
Remind me later.