Daghestani groups says it's holding Chechen hostages

A group calling itself the People's Volunteer Corps of Daghestan says it is holding the five journalists from neighbouring Chechnya who disappeared on Monday after travelling on assignment to Daghestan.

The group made the admission to the employer of one of the missing reporters, the Russian NTV channel.

It said it was holding a total of seven hostages.

It said it would only set the hostages free in exchange for seven Daghestani policemen allegedly seized by a group of suspected renegade Chechen fighters.

The Chechens were reportedly taking part in a raid on Russian military targets -- an operation the five reporters had set out to investigate.

Their other employers are Russian ORT television, Reuters news agency and World Television News.

There's been a recent flare-up of kidnappings in this volatile region of southern Russia, with five Polish aid workers apparently abducted last week.

Most of the kidnappings in Chechnya and Daghestan are done in an attempt to extract ranson money.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service