8 Chechen rebels reported killed

GROZNY, Russia, June 10 (UPI) -- Security forces in Chechnya have killed eight militants and may have taken the life of a senior leader of rebel forces, Russian officials said Thursday.

Chechen President Ramzan Kazyrov said at a news conference Yasir Amarat was known to be in the area when the Federal Security Service and Chechen police began an offensive May 8, ITAR-Tass reported. But his body has not been identified among the dead.

One of those killed was a militant nicknamed "Forest Lion" who was believed to be Amarat's bodyguard and confidante, Kazyrov said.

"One can state with more than 100 percent certainty that Yasir was there, because the 'Forest Lion' never left him alone," the president said. "But there is no body, and a search is under way."

Rebels in Chechnya and other semi-autonomous states in the North Caucasus have been unsuccessfully fighting for independence from Russia since the breakup of the Soviet Union.