Chechen rebels launched a series of attacks that left 21 soldiers dead and 45 wounded. Meanwhile, the rebels have denied any involvement in the recent hijacking of a Russian airliner in Turkey. But one of the captured (in Saudi Arabia) hijackers was the former Chechen minister of state security Aslanbek Arsayev. Another of the hijackers was his brother and third his nephew. Saudi commandoes stormed the aircraft and freed the hostages, killing one of the hijackers. The Chechens killed a stewardess. A passenger died during the rescue.