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Gunmen Attack Chechen Parliament

   People killed, hostages taken

   VOA News 19 October 2010

   Russian  news  agencies  report  that multiple gunmen have stormed the
   parliament  in  the southern republic of Chechnya, taking hostages and
   killing at least two people.
   Interfax said shots were fired in the office of the Chechen parliament
   speaker, but he was not harmed in the attack. Â
   The agency also reported that riot police were sent to the scene.
   Chechnya  is  part  of Russia's troubled North Caucasus, which has for
   years been plagued by violence linked to Islamist separatists.
   Russia  has  fought  two  wars  in  recent years against insurgents in
   Chechnya.   Major  fighting  in Chechnya has subsided, but attacks on
   government  targets  continue daily and violence has spilled over into
   Dagestan and Ingushetia, which borders Chechnya on the north.

   Some information for this report provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.

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