11.   Islamic rebels based in Chechnya have been fighting Russian troops in Dagestan, a neighboring Russian republic in the Caucasus.

12.   Islamic rebels continued their assault on Dagestan on Monday, spurring fears that the Kremlin might lose control of the region.

13.   Islamic rebels from the nearby southern Philippines claimed responsibility for the abduction.

14.   Law-enforcement officials also said they have evidence linking the explosions to Chechen field commander Shaimil Basayev and the Jordanian-born Islamic rebel leader Khattab.

15.   Last week, it was the Islamic rebels who held this rustic settlement, only two and a half miles from the outskirts of Grozny, the Chechen capital.

16.   Long, unregulated borders with Afghanistan, home to the repressive Taliban and unregulated Islamic rebel boot camps, has made it one of the most frightening.

17.   Officials say Khartoum is also backing Islamic rebel movements in Ethiopia.

18.   Rather, it was the news reports that the Russian reconnaissance force in Grozny had been wiped out by Islamic rebels.

19.   Recently, the Uzbek government, suspecting that Islamic rebels were infiltrating their territory via Tajikistan, started mining the border.

20.   Russian officials insisted the bases were being used by the Islamic rebels to support their insurgency in neighboring Dagestan.