Russian forces are carrying out large-scale operations against separatists throughout Chechnya, amid fears of more rebel attacks both inside the republic and in Russia as a whole. The Russian news agency Itar-TASS reported that 25 rebels had been killed over 24-hours. Defence Minister Sergey Ivanov announced the operations on Sunday, as nine Russian servicemen died on board a military helicopter that crashed in the republic. More than a dozen people have already been arrested in connection with the incident, in which 43 people were killed and more than 150 injured.