Conflicting claims in Chechnya

Sleptsovsk - Chechen separatist rebels and the Russian army each claimed yesterday to have killed seven of their opponents in weekend attacks in the separatist republic. A spokesman for the rebel president, Mr Aslan Maskhadov, said three Russian soldiers had been killed in two attacks in the capital, Grozny, while a further two had died in another incident to the south-east of the city.