Chechens Free Russian Soldiers

Eight Russian soldiers held by Chechen rebels were released Saturday, the Interfax news agency said.

The soldiers were taken captive following a Chechen attack Tuesday at Vedeno, a rebel stronghold 30 miles southeast of the Chechen capital, Grozny.

The soldiers were freed and flown by helicopter to an airport outside Grozny, Interfax said. The report did not say why the soldiers were released.

Eighteen Russian servicemen were killed in Tuesday’s attack, and the Russian command has threatened to retaliate.

The news agency said dozens of Russian tanks and armored personnel carriers moved toward Vedeno Saturday morning, but their final destination was unknown.

Under a shaky July 30 agreement, rebels began disarming and the Russians began reducing their forces in the breakaway republic.

But there has been shooting virtually every day and attacks on Russian military personnel and officials are on the rise.

“There is war going on here. There is no cease-fire,” Shamil Basayev, a Chechen rebel commander, told Western TV reporters this week.

Basayev led a June raid in southern Russia in which dozens of people were killed and hundreds taken hostage. Basayev agreed to return the hostages in return for safe passage to Chechnya and the beginning of peace talks.