71.   A joint military command also was on the agenda, sources said.

72.   A few scattered clashes were reported overnight Sunday in which one Russian serviceman was killed, the Russian military command reported.

73.   A Russian tank commander and two other servicemen were killed in Chechen attacks as some Russian troops prepared to leave the rebel republic, the military command said Sunday.

74.   A policeman was killed and four were wounded Sunday when a bomb went off in a temporary police station in Chechnya, the military command said.

75.   A spokesman for the Russian military command in Chechnya, Vladimir Vorozhtsov, told Interfax Russian troops were shooting back but otherwise observing the cease-fire.

76.   A new military command is being established in February to help efforts to crush the insurgents.

77.   A spokesman at alliance military command in Belgium reported all planes had returned to their bases safely after many successful sorties.

78.   A spokesman at the Chechen military command suggested that the Russians needed the cease-fire to regroup their forces and to save face during state visits abroad.

79.   A spokesman for the military command also said Russian troops were strictly observing the cease-fire that came into effect at midnight on Sunday, ITAR-Tass reported.

80.   A spokesman for the military command said all Russian troops were strictly observing the cease-fire that came into effect at midnight on Sunday, ITAR-Tass reported.