MAKHACHKALA, Russia — Large-scale fighting between Russian forces and Islamic militants in southern Russia was mostly over by Thursday, though tensions remained high over reported attacks on breakaway Chechnya.
Russia's military said Thursday that its jets pounded Islamic fighters fleeing to Chechnya on Wednesday after a failed invasion of the neighboring republic of Dagestan that began Aug. 7. But officials gave conflicting reports of whether the strikes hit Chechnya, which remains part of Russia but has slipped out of Moscow's control since rebels fought a 1994-96 war for independence.
