The rebels claimed to have worked with mobile Chechen forces, and vowed more attacks.

Chechen separatist forces recaptured the city in August 1996, ending the war.

Chechen forces have been promising the same sort of Grozny welcome for Russian troops in the latest conflict.

The only hitch is that the entire Chechen force in the area seems to be determined to wipe these guys off the map.

Al-Jazeera had some reporters covering the Chechen forces in the area.

He said the evacuation of the palace was "strategic," to allow Chechen forces to remobilize to other bases within the city.

But I hadn't planned on crushing the Chechen forces in the area.

The Chechen force had moved out into the valley and was running towards them but they were more than four hundred meters back.

The main body of the Chechen force was deployed in the field with a machine gun setting up to the west.