Russian Defense Minister Igor Sergeyev said Tuesday that up to 1,800 Chechen rebels are now blocked by federal troops in the republic.

A group of at least 1,000 militants under rebel commander Ruslan Gelayev "have been fully immobilized, blocked and besieged by destruction for a third day" in Komsomolskoye, south of the

Chechen capital of Grozny, the Itar-Tass news agency quoted Sergeyev as saying.

Another 800 rebels have been surrounded by federal forces in Ulus-Kert, Sergeyev said.

"Our forces and skills are sufficient for eliminating the remaining bandits and creating conditions for a peaceful life in Chechnya," Sergeyev added.

Meanwhile, rebels trapped at the northern entrance of Argun Gorge continued their attempts to break out of the noose thrown around them by the federal troops, the Interfax news agency

reported.

Air and artillery attacks Monday inflicted heavy losses on the rebels, the provisional press center of the federal force in the North Caucasus said.

In face of mounting federal offensives, the rebels have decided to flee the combat zone in small groups of 15-20, Interfax reported.

On Monday, Colonel General Gennady Troshev, deputy commander of the federal forces in the North Caucasus, said up to 1,000 Chechen rebels were destroyed in the previous three to four days.