#4 - JRL 7065
Russian troops casualties in Chechnya exceed 4,700 in
2002
MOSCOW, Feb 17 /Prime-TASS/ -- The Russian armed forces in Chechnya lost 4,739 servicemen during its military operations in Chechnya in 2002, 13,108 were wounded and 29 are missing in action, ITAR-TASS said Monday, quoting the Northern Caucasus military district headquarters.
Out of the Defense Ministry's troops 2,752 died, 6,471 were wounded and 27 are missing in action. The headquarters did not issue any information regarding the rest of the casualties.
Colonel General Ivan Chizh who heads up the defense ministry's medical department, said that 1,257 servicemen from Chechnya are now in military hospitals, most of them wounded.
Analysts say that the real number of casualties in Chechnya is much higher than that usually presented by the government.