In a statement posted on the Chechen government website, Kadyrov said he believed one of those killed in Friday's battle may have been Doku Umarov, who has declared himself the head of a North Caucasus "emirate."
Kadyrov said helicopter gunships opened fire on the rebels before special forces launched a ground operation in Shalazh, 30 kilometers southwest of Grozny.
There has been no independent confirmation of the government's account of the battle.
Attacks in Russia's southern republics have risen in recent months.
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UN chief mourns death of former Nepalese prime minister
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today paid tribute to Nepal's former prime minister and head of the Nepali Congress party Girija Prasad Koirala, calling his death a “huge loss” both for the country and for its peace process, which ended a decade-long civil war.
Tibet: China: Tibetans non violent protests go on. Monks and students Arrested
In Qinghai pro-Dalai Lama leaflets are distributed, the police occupy the nearby monastery and arrest three monks at random. Secondary school students in Gansu praise the Dalai Lama, the police arrest at least 20 young people.
In his state of the nation address on Thursday, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said violence in the North Caucasus region, which includes Chechnya, Dagestan and Ingushetia, was Russia's biggest domestic problem.
compiled from agency reports
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