29.11.2003 Itar-Tass

KHANKALA, November 29 (Itar-Tass) - Unidentified attackers have fired at a school building where a polling station is located in the Chechen settlement of Mesker-Yurt, the Shali region.

The attack was committed last Thursday, the Russian Interior Ministry's press centre in the North Caucasus told Itar-Tass on Saturday.

A policeman from the Shali regional interior department, who guarded the school, was fatally wounded in the attack.

Policemen fired back and tried to pursue the gunmen, but the bandits escaped under cover of darkness.

Legal proceedings have been instituted in connection with the attack.

The same day, a group of gunmen wearing camouflage uniform got into a policeman's house in the village of Salmentauzen in the Vedeno region.

The policeman was not at home.

The gunmen set fire to the house, and it burned down. Nobody was hurt.

The attackers are being sought.

Nov.28, 2003