Bomb Injures Russian Commander In Chechnya

A remote-controlled bomb gravely wounded Russia’s top commander in Chechnya on Friday, provoking vows of retaliation and warnings that the bloodletting that began in the republic 10 months ago may be poised for another escalation.

The attack that left Lt. Gen. Anatoly A. Romanov struggling for his life with severe head and abdominal wounds was the second assassination attempt on a senior federal official in Chechnya in 2-1/2 weeks.

President Boris N. Yeltsin’s personal envoy to the rebel southern republic, Oleg I. Lobov, narrowly escaped injury Sept. 20 when a bomb planted on a bridge in the Chechen capital, Grozny, detonated shortly after his motorcade had crossed.

Friday’s blast occurred as Romanov’s five-vehicle convoy was traveling through Grozny, which was devastated by intensive Russian artillery shelling earlier this year. The Itar-Tass news agency indicated that the explosion was triggered by a remote-controlled device.

The powerful explosion damaged two armored personnel carriers in the convoy, and Russian television footage showed a smashed and twisted heap of metal that had been the jeep in which Romanov was riding.

Romanov was transported out of the volatile Chechen war zone to Vladikavkaz, where a surgical team rushed from Moscow.