MOSCOW,
August 19 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - At least 85 Russian
soldiers were killed when their chopper crashed in Chechnya Monday,
August 19, in an attack claimed by Chechen fighters, which could prove
to be one of the biggest losses to federal troops in the 35-month
independence war.
Russian
President Vladimir Putin, who launched the Chechen offensive in
October 1999 while he was prime minister, called the incident a
"catastrophe" and ordered a full-scale inquiry into the
downing of the Mi-26's helicopter, Agence France-Presse (AFP) said.
Initial
media reports said 117 people were on board the helicopter which went
down just outside the main Russian military headquarters of Khankala
on the eastern outskirts of the rebel capital Grozny.
"According
to preliminary information, the helicopter went down after being hit
either by a missile or heavy machine gun fire," an unnamed
military source told Interfax.
A
Russian defense ministry spokesman quickly denied the chopper had been
shot down by Chechen fighters, insisting the crash was caused by an
engine malfunction.
Appearing
on Russian national television, he dismissed any Chechen involvement,
which would prove a big blow to a Russian government that has
repeatedly pronounced its military campaign there was all but over and
won.
"The
engine ignited when the helicopter was attempting to land,"
Nikolai Deryabin told ORT television. "It was forced to make an
emergency landing."
But
the Chechen fighters claimed responsibility for the attack in a
statement published by the Kavkaz Center group on their Internet site.
It said only that the incident occurred Monday afternoon, AFP said.
"According
to preliminary information, tens of occupants who were in the
helicopter were killed," said the Chechen dispatch.
The
Russian-made Mi-26, first built in 1983, is used mainly for heavy
transport and can carry up to 20 tons of cargo and more than 100
equipped troops and armored vehicles.
Roughly
the size of a passenger jet, the helicopter can reach a top speed of
195 kilometers per hour (121 miles per hour). It is the heaviest
military helicopter in the world.
The
incident occurred at 4:55 pm, when Russia was sending reinforcements
into Chechnya from its main North Caucasus base of Mozdok, in the
North Ossetia, AFP said.
Russian
troops stormed into Chechnya in October 1999 in what Moscow termed an
anti-terrorist operation that has since unraveled into a guerrilla war
with daily casualties on both sides.
Russia
has so far lost around 4,500 troops in the conflict, according to its
own
