RUSSIAN TROOPS LAUNCH FIERCE ATTACK ON GROZNY.(MAIN)

Byline: Associated Press

GROZNY, Russia -- Rocket after rocket pounded into Grozny on Friday as Russian forces shook Chechnya with the fiercest assault since the campaign began. Amid the flames of the shattered city, a top rebel commander warned of full-scale retaliation.

Many civilians were killed in the barrage, said dazed and frightened residents who made it out of the chaos.

Russian units in the area of Alkhan-Yurt and Alkhan-Kala, five miles south of Grozny, unleashed hundreds of rockets at the city in the assault, which began Thursday night and ended at 5 a.m. …