ROSTOV ON DON, July 16 (RIA Novosti) - Fifteen gunmen were killed and two detained in a special operation on the border between Russia's North Caucasus republics of Chechnya and Ingushetia, a deputy interior minister said on Thursday.

Arkady Yedelev said actually more gunmen had been killed, but their bodies had yet to be found.

He said the militants could have been involved in a number of crimes, including "the execution of Russian-speakers in Ingushetia."

The official stressed that the ministry had been tasked with neutralizing militant groups operating in Ingushetia as quickly as possible.

Russia's North Caucasus has seen an upsurge in violence in recent months, particularly in Dagestan, Ingushetia, and Chechnya.