VLADIKAVKAZ - Rebels assaulted Russian soldiers' positions 20 times in the latest fighting in Chechnya, an official said Tuesday, killing five and wounding nine in the daily small-scale attacks that have now typify the conflict.

A total eight soldiers died and 22 were wounded in the latest fighting and mine explosions in the southern province, a Chechen official in the pro-Moscow administration said on condition of anonymity.

One rebel was killed when he resisted during a sweep operation in a district of the capital Grozny in a clash that injured two soldiers, the official said.

Also in Grozny, masked robbers assaulted two cars with workers from the regional pension fund, taking all the money they were carrying and leaving them tied up on the outskirts of the city, the official said. There were no details as to the amount of money taken.

Artillery pounded four Chechen regions, while troops rounded up about 220 suspects during mopping-up operations in towns and villages aimed at weeding out rebel sympathizers.

The Kremlin insists the situation in Chechnya is normalizing since the latest war that began in 1999, and President Vladimir Putin has scheduled presidential elections for the region in October.