A militant was killed in a firefight in southwestern Chechnya when police attempted to stop his car for an ID check, a Chechen Interior Ministry spokesman said Thursday.
"An unidentified driver opened fire at police officers when they tried to stop his car for an ID check on a road between the villages of Komsomolskoye and Martanchuin, in the Urus-Martan district of Chechnya," Magomet Deniyev said.
The police official said the driver was killed by return fire, and his identity was being established.
An assault rifle, a grenade launcher and an artillery shell were found in the car.
Although the active phase of the antiterrorism campaign in Russia`s troubled North Caucasus region officially ended in 2001, periodic bombings and clashes between militants and federal troops still disrupt Chechnya and nearby regions, including Daghestan, Ingushetia, Kabardino-Balkaria, and Karachayevo-Circassia.
sections: Accidents, Region News regions: Southern region |