Chechen rebels say they shot down helicopter

Chechen rebels have claimed responsibility for the downing of a Russian military helicopter.

Two crew members were killed yesterday when the Mi-24 helicopter went down near the village of Alkhan-Kala, south-west of the Chechen capital, Grozny. The helicopter had flown out of the Russian military headquarters in Khankala, outside Grozny, on a reconnaissance mission, the Interfax news agency reported.

Rebel leader Madzhilsul Shura claimed on a website that fighters had shot down the helicopter using a Russian-made, shoulder-fired Igla (Needle) missile.

The statement also said Chechen rebels had downed another Russian military helicopter last week in the republic of Ingushetia. Russian officials had publicly blamed that crash on bad weather or pilot error, but an official in the Kremlin-backed administration in Chechnya said that the helicopter had been hit by ground fire.

Chechen rebels have shot down many Russian military helicopters during the latest five-year war in the region.

Russian forces pulled out of Chechnya after a devastating 1994-96 war but swept back in September 1999 after rebels raided a neighbouring province and were blamed for a series of deadly apartment-building bombings in Moscow and other Russian cities.