Russian helicopter gunships and combat aircraft have pounded border positions in both Dagestan and neighboring Chechnya in a sustained offensive against Islamic rebels. Russian interior ministry officials said that their forces flew 19 raids, mainly targeting mountainous areas of Dagestan held by rebels near the border with Chechnya and the nearby Chechen village of Kenkhi. Officials reported that four Russian paratroopers were killed overnight in fighting in the Botlikh district. Islamic rebels said that 15 Russians had been killed with three executed when they tried to escape after being captured.
