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Militant killed, soldier wounded in separate Chechen shootouts

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GROZNY, June 15 (RIA Novosti) - A militant has been killed and a federal soldier wounded in two separate gun battles during the past 24 hours in the troubled North Caucasus republic of Chechnya, local Interior Ministry said.

Chechnya was devastated by two military campaigns, in 1994-1996 and 1999-2001, after which Moscow significantly scaled down its military presence in the republic. But random fighting and terrorist attacks still occur in the area, despite a widely publicized amnesty campaign announced by Russian authorities.

"A skirmish in the Shatoi district occurred between a group of militants and federal troops in the mountainous area near the village of Khal-Keloi," a spokesman said, adding that a 22-year-old militant was killed in the gunfight.

Another shootout occurred in the Urus-Martan district of Chechnya. A soldier from the West battalion, which is part of the Russian 42nd motorized division, was wounded and later hospitalized.

In addition, local police discovered an abandoned militant base in a two-story building in the village of Kenkhi in the Sharoi district, the source said.

Operatives seized a Kalashnikov machine gun, a Kalashnikov assault rifle, over 2,000 rounds of ammunition, 12 hand grenades, and other equipment.

A 22,000-man contingent of Russian federal troops stationed in Chechnya will not be reduced until all armed groups are eliminated in the troubled North Caucasus republic, the Russian authorities said in March.

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