GROZNY, Russia – Russia’s National Anti-Terrorist Committee says 10
police officers were killed and 28 wounded in gun battles with militants
in the capital of Chechnya.
The leader of the Russian republic announced that at least nine of the militants were killed before the fighting ended.
The gun battles left a 10-story building and a school in ruins in the centre of the Chechen capital, Grozny.
The
fighting early Thursday punctured the patina of stability ensured by
years of heavy-handed rule by the Kremlin-appointed leader.
The violence erupted hours before Russian President Vladimir Putin gave his annual state of the nation address.
published by The Canadian Press, 2014