Rebels launch assault on city - 12 Russian Troops wounded

 
A large contingent of rebel fighters have launched a raid on the city of Nalchik in Kabardino-Balkaria in the northern Caucusus.

According to Russian media, at least 10 groups of rebels, each consisting of about 5 fighters, hit Russian Army and Polcie targets across the city within the space of two hours.

Police and military installations across the city were raked with machine gun fire while others were hit with anti-tank rockets. The interior ministry has announced that 12 members of the security forces were wounded. Rebels have claimed that they killed a number of police officers and soldiers although Russian Security Forces have denied this. It is believed that the rebels used a number of hijacked vehciles to launch the attacks.

On the same night, two police installations in outlying towns, one located in the neighbouring province of Ingushetia, were bombed.

The head of security for the city, Arsen Kanakov, has described the incident as a "co-ordinated attack on the city intended to cause destabilization".

Rebel sources have said that the raid was carried out by 5 teams of fighters with a further 5 units providing backup. They also claimed that all of their fighters escaped without injury.