GROZNY, Russia -- Chechen fighters launched a strong counterattack against Russian forces in Grozny's northern outskirts Wednesday, despite Moscow's claims that the rebels were close to collapse.
Rebel fighters retook parts of the Grozny suburb of Khankala, which Russian forces claimed to have occupied days ago. By Wednesday morning, Chechen militants controlled the southern half of the area.An Associated Press reporter witnessed heavy fighting in several other parts of Grozny and its outskirts that the Russians had claimed to have taken over in recent days.
Russian soldiers, who spoke on condition they not be named, said that in one attack in Grozny's southwest, rebel fighters captured 60 Russian troops. Russian officials did not confirm the claim.
Chechen leaders said the attacks marked the start of a change in the war, adding that the Russian advance into Chechnya would be halted. A major Chechen counterattack could be embarrassing to the Russian government, which has said it is close to defeating the rebels.
"The period of the Russian army's triumphant march through Chechnya is over. A turning point in the second war in Chechnya is about to occur," said Chechen presidential administration chief Apti Batalov, according to the Interfax news agency.
But, in a statement released by Chechen representatives in Georgia, Chechen President Aslan Maskhadov called for a cease-fire from Jan. 8-11. He also accused the Russians of using chemical weapons.
Col. Gen. Valery Manilov of the Russian General Headquarters said "such assertions cannot be called other than misinformation and lies," Interfax reported.
Despite the rebels' gains, the Chechen offensive could be short-lived. The rebels in Grozny are reportedly short of ammunition, although their spirits appear to be high and they have vowed to hold the shattered capital.
Khankala's streets were almost empty by midday, with Chechen snipers taking up positions in several of the area's high-rise apartment buildings.
Chechen commanders said they had killed two Russian soldiers in the fighting, but exact casualty figures from both sides were not available.
The Russian Defense Ministry denied that the Chechen counterattack made any progress, and said that eight Russian soldiers had been killed in the past 24 hours across Chechnya.
The attacks came a day after Russia sent fresh ground troops into the offensive to take Grozny on Tuesday and claimed to have rebels trapped in the city center.
Emerging from a meeting today with acting President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, Defense Minister Igor Sergeyev said federal forces were regrouping in Grozny so that rebel fighters wouldn't be able to break out.
He insisted that the Russian offensive was not in trouble.
"The operation in Chechnya is going according to plan, acting President Putin did not give the forces additional objectives," Sergeyev said, according to Interfax.
Federal forces meanwhile kept up an intense air and artillery attack of Grozny.
Russia has been wary of making frontal assaults in Grozny, anxious to avoid the huge losses it suffered in a full-on attack in a 1994-96 war. In the current Chechnya fighting, Russia has bombarded the city with artillery and jets for months, making probing ground attacks.
The Russians claimed success in southern Chechnya today, reporting that they had taken control of the Nozhai-Yurt district, near the border with the Russian region of Dagestan.
Scattered units of rebels who had been in Nozhai-Yurt were retreating southward under the pressure of the Russian attack, Interfax reported, citing sources in the Russian Defense Ministry.
The federal command told the news agency that Russian jets and helicopters flew 37 attack sorties overnight but foggy weather across the republic kept them from waging more strikes.
Russia quickly took control of Chechnya's northern lowlands after its campaign began in September, and has directed much of its attention in recent days to capturing the southern mountains.
But the fight there was expected to drag on because the rebels have strongholds in the south and the mountains favor their hit-and-run tactics.