Gunmen kidnap 4 civilians from hospital before escaping through snowy mountains. In a brazen incursion, up to 50 heavily armed Chechen rebels killed nine Russian border guards in neighboring Dagestan Monday and kidnapped four civilians from a hospital before escaping over treacherous snow-swept mountain passes. Coming just days after at least 50 people died in two suicide bombings in Russia that the Kremlin blamed on Chechen rebels, Monday’s incursion was a reminder of just how poorly Moscow controls war-torn Chechnya and the volatile region it borders, despite President Vladimir Putin’s “normalization” campaign for the breakaway republic. Armed with automatic rifles and shoulder-mounted grenade launchers, the rebels — 25 to 50 men, according to various accounts — entered the quaint western Dagestani village of Shauri before dawn, firing shots to frighten the residents, and took over the local hospital, Russian officials said. Full Story