Russian serviceman wounded in Chechnya helicopter attack

A Russian serviceman was wounded when suspected militants opened fire on a Defense Ministry Mi-8 helicopter in Russia's North Caucasus republic of Chechnya, a police source said on Monday.

MOSCOW, July 6 (RIA Novosti) - A Russian serviceman was wounded when suspected militants opened fire on a Defense Ministry Mi-8 helicopter in Russia's North Caucasus republic of Chechnya, a police source said on Monday.

The unknown assailants opened fire on the helicopter from a forest in the Shatoi district of southern Chechnya early on Sunday.

"As a result, a contract soldier was wounded and hospitalized," the source said, without giving specific details.

Militant attacks and clashes remain common in Russia's North Caucasus, although the Kremlin campaign to fight separatists and terrorists in Chechnya has officially ended.