Five Russian servicemen have been killed in Chechnya by a bomb detonated under their armoured personnel carrier, Interfax news agency has reported.
A Russian army officer quoted by Interfax said three other soldiers were injured by the explosion of a remote-controlled bomb made from an artillery shell.
The attack occurred in the early afternoon in the Vedeno region southeast of the capital Grozny, at the foot of southern Chechen mountains.
Russia, which returned to the rebel region on its southern rim in 1999 to end three years of de facto independence by Chechens, has established nominal control over the territory, but troops and police die almost daily in rebel raids.
A new guerrilla tactics of using suicide bombers, including women, inside and outside Chechnya has made Moscow particularly vulnerable to attacks.
Despite mounting losses, the Kremlin has refused to talk to separatist leaders and has pushed ahead with a peace plan based on a regional presidential election scheduled for October 5th.