American aid worker Kenny Gluck was freed in Chechnya by a Russian KGB operation. Few details were available, although no one was injured and the Russians insist no ransom was paid. The rebels denied any involvement in the kidnapping, but there are so many rebel factions, some basically criminal gangs, that it is hard to agree on anything except that Chechens were the kidnappers. The rebels blame the Russians of kidnapping Gluck, and staging his rescue. It's more likely that the KGB made the captors an offer they could not refuse, one that did not involve money, but rather some other favor. This is a classic KGB technique.  Elsewhere in Chechnya, two Russian soldiers died in several clashes with rebels.