Rebel attacks and land mines killed five Russian soldiers in Chechnya over the previous day, an official in the Moscow-backed Chechen administration said Wednesday. Three of the Russian soldiers were killed and another five were wounded as federal outposts came under rebels\' fire 20 times, the official said on condition of anonymity. Two others were killed and one wounded in two separate land mine explosions, he said. On Wednesday, the top federal military commander in Chechnya said up to 80 guerrilla units are still operating in Chechnya, the ITAR-Tass news agency reported. Col-Gen. Valery Baranov also warned of possible attacks on polling stations before or during the presidential elections on March 14, the agency said. In political developments, Chechnya\'s Kremlin-backed leader Akhmad Kadyrov announced that Chechen Prime Minister Anatoly Popov would be replaced, news agencies reported. Popov was medically evacuated five months ago after what some claim was an attempt to poison him. He has not returned to Chechnya. Russia\'s first, 20-month war with Chechen separatists ended in the troops\' withdrawal in 1996, leaving Chechnya de-facto independent and largely lawless. The Kremlin sent troops back into Chechnya in September 1999, after Chechnya-based fighters made incursions into neighboring Dagestan and after some 300 people died in apartment bombings blamed by officials on the insurgents. (AP)