Civilian injured in S.Russia shootout between police, militants

NAZRAN, August 5 (RIA Novosti) - One civilian was injured in a shootout between militants and police in Russia's North Caucasus republic of Ingushetia, a local police source said on Tuesday.

Unidentified gunmen opened fire with automatic weapons on a police van at around 23:30 Moscow time (19:30 GMT) on Monday in the province's largest city, Nazran, the source said. The officers returned fire.

None of the officers were injured, but "during the shootout, one local resident was wounded, and was immediately hospitalized," the source said.

The gunmen escaped, and a search operation is underway.

Although the active phase of the antiterrorism campaign in Russia's North Caucasus officially ended in 2001, periodic bombings and clashes between militants and federal troops still disrupt Chechnya and nearby regions, including Ingushetia.