The Russian Defense Ministry admitted January 20 that a ranking officer had gone missing since Tuesday amid reports that Chechen rebels had captured him.

The ministry said Major General Mikhail Malofeyev, the deputy commander of the northern federal grouping in Chechnya, disappeared during special operations in Grozny on January 18, the Interfax reported.

The Chechen capital had witnessed the fiercest fighting over the past few days since federal troops launched assaults on rebelsin the breakaway republic last September.

Malofeyev had arrived in Grozny to familiarize himself with the situation, but his unit was ambushed in Grozny's Zavodskoi district, Interfax said, citing ministry sources.

The Russian military feared that Malofeyev might have been killed or taken prisoner. Special army units are trying to establish his whereabouts.