Chechen rebels kill three Russians

Three Russian soldiers were killed in a clash with Chechen separatists in Kurchaloi, when they stumbled upon the rebels' forest camp.

Three Russian servicemen died in a clash with Chechen separatists, when they stumbled upon the rebels' forest camp, local media reported on Saturday.

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The group of around 20 rebels retreated after the clash on Friday in Kurchaloi, east of the capital Grozny, apparently without loss, sources said.

Such clashes are rare in winter, when the lack of natural cover in Chechnya's forests keeps rebels under cover, but it is frequent during warmer periods of a war that has ground on for 11 years and developed into a bitter guerrilla insurgency.