11.   The operation has involved pounding the targets from the air while encircling the mountain range with hundreds of ground troops to prevent any fighters from fleeing.

12.   The operation appears designed to pound the renegade forces while surrounding them with ground troops in a bid to prevent the fighters from escaping.

13.   In recent weeks Turkey has deployed heavy troop reinforcements along the Iraqi border to prevent PKK fighters infiltrating into the country from Iraq.

14.   But some police officers feel the sweeping measures will not be enough to prevent Chechen fighters from slipping through the net.

15.   Tikhomirov said that troops were preventing separatist fighters from leaving Samashki to help the fighters in Bamut, Interfax said.

16.   Russian warplanes also attacked villages in the mountains around Grozny in an apparent bid to prevent resistance fighters from preparing for guerrilla warfare once Grozny falls.