CHECHNYA: NEAR GROZNY: RUSSIAN TROOPS CLOSE IN

Natural Sound Emboldened by news that their enemies have slipped away, Russian soldiers have pressed on toward the shattered center of Grozny and fought to root out remaining militants. The rattle of automatic gunfire and occasional explosions of tank and artillery shells echoed off shattered buildings. Moscow’s troops appeared to be making faster progress than at any time over the past five weeks, but still met with persistent resistance. Russian forces backed by tanks and artillery have batt