Russia: August 21, 2000

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  Chechen rebels stumbled into a minefield in eastern Chechnya, leaving nine dead and a dozen wounded. The rebels have increasingly relied on the use of mines themselves. As Russian troops have introduced more effective tactics to deal with ambushes, the rebels have taken more often to mining roads. Anti-vehicle mines are hard to spot on the many dirt roads in Chechnya. Often the mines are detonated by remote control, so civilian traffic can be allowed to pass, or a military convoy that the ambush team feels they can finish off with assault rifles can be hit and larger ones allowed to pass. There were also over fifty rebel attacks on polling places as Chechens held a long delayed vote for their representative in the Russian legislature.