MOSCOW, March 20 (RIA Novosti) - A skirmish with militants in central Chechnya left five law enforcement officers dead and another three wounded, a police source in the North Caucasus republic said on Thursday.
The clash with a militant group, of up to 15 people, took place in a forest on the outskirts of the village of Alkhazurovo in the Urus-Martan district overnight during a search operation by local police. "Three militants were killed in response fire," the source said.
"The body of a civilian was also discovered in the morning during a search of the area," investigators said.
The driver of a passing car was shot dead as the militants tried to escape, and three passengers were wounded. The militants also burned down a local administration building.
The police and troops are combing the woods and checking vehicles in the vicinity.
Chechnya saw two Kremlin-led military campaigns in the 1990s-early 2000s against a separatist regime, and although Moscow has resumed control over the republic, sporadic clashes with militant groups are not uncommon.
