Top Russian officer among 7 soldiers killed in Georgia

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MOSCOW, Oct 4 (AFP): A top officer was among seven Russian soldiers killed in a car bombing in the Georgian rebel city of Tskhinvali, Russian media reported Saturday, amid conflicting reports on the incident.
The death of Colonel Ivan Petrik, head of the Russian military's joint staff for the South Ossetia conflict zone, was first reported by Kommersant newspaper and confirmed to Interfax by a spokesman for Russian land forces, Ivan Konashenkov.
"It's really the case. We're not hiding his death," Konashenkov said.
Earlier Russia's military said seven servicemen had been killed and seven others wounded in Friday's car bomb blast at the Russian forces' base in Tskhinvali, but did not identify the victims.