HIGHLIGHTS: Nine Russian Troops Killed Wednesday;
Putin Devotes Only 1 Minute of Annual Speech to Chechnya.
Resistance Attacks Expected To Increase in Coming Months.
Read photo caption within.

STORY: A bomb killed at least 17 pro-Moscow police in Russian-Ruled Chechnya Thursday, two hours before President Vladimir Putin declared the war over. The attacks brought the reported 24-hour death toll to 26, in one of the bloodiest days of a conflict that has raged throughout Putin's two years in office.

Sultan Satuyev, first deputy head of pro-Moscow Chechen police, told NTV television 16 of his elite OMON officers had died in Thursday morning's attack on a truck convoy, 200 meters from their headquarters in the regional capital Grozny.

Later reports said a 17th died in hospital and five others were wounded. Television showed black body bags lined up on the ground and wreckage of several trucks blown apart.

Putin devoted only a single minute to Chechnya in an hour-long annual State of the Nation address, declaring the "military stage" of the conflict over. Russia has made that claim repeatedly over the past two years despite losing thousands of troops in unabated armed attacks for independence.

NTV said gunfire and explosions could be heard in Grozny, and Interfax news agency said Russian SU-24 frontline bombers had launched air strikes on the mountains.

Wednesday, six Russian troops died and 11 were injured in two separate mine attacks in the south, Interfax reported. It said Russian forces mortared the mountain village of Gorgachi in apparent reprisal for one of the attacks.

PUTIN REPEATS OPTIMISTIC ASSESSMENTS

For the second year in a row, Putin used his annual speech to declare an end to the military operation in Chechnya. Yet since Russian troops retook most Chechen territory in early 2000, there has been no let-up in Resistance attacks or Russian reprisals.

In last year's speech Putin said the army was withdrawing, its task complete. But plans to pull out large numbers of troops, announced several times with fanfare, have never been carried out.

With the exception of a single meeting last November, Russia has refused any talks with the nationalist leadership aimed at ending the Resistance.

The main task in Chechnya was now to set up functioning political, legal and law enforcement institutions, he said.
Russia says its enemies in Chechnya are foreign-born or foreign-funded Islamic extremists, and its war there is part of the international war against terror.

Western governments share Russia's concern that some foreign Islamic radicals have operated in Chechnya, but accuse Moscow of making the situation far worse by refusing to open up a peace dialogue with mainstream local pro-independence leaders.

Russian forces withdrew from Chechnya after a 1994-96 war, but Putin, then prime minister, sent them back in 1999. Russian troops nominally control nearly all the region but still die nearly every day in shooting and bombing attacks.

Russian commanders say Resistance attacks are likely to increase in the next few months as leaves return to the trees, providing better cover for ambushes.

PHOTO CAPTION:

Chechen nationalist fighters frequently use remote-controlled mines to target Russian troops and police officer