In Chechnya, three servicemen from a reconnaissance unit returning to their base were wounded when a home-made explosive device went off in the Vedeno district.
The Kyrgyz Defense Minister rejected reports that Russian-supplied firearms for the Kyrgyz special forces were payment for privileged conditions at the Kant air base, stressing that the weapons were supplied free of charge under the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) and that the airfield agreement was signed back in July 1993. - Adam Geibel