GROZNY, October 4 (RIA Novosti) - A policeman was killed in an attack by unidentified assailants in Russia's North Caucasus Republic of Chechnya, the republic's interior ministry said on Sunday.

The policeman was shot dead by attackers in Chechnya's capital, Grozny, late on Saturday. His service gun was stolen, the interior ministry said.

Measures are under way to find the attackers, the interior ministry said.

Russia's North Caucasus republics, in particular Chechnya, Dagestan and Ingushetia, have seen an upsurge of militant violence this year, with frequent attacks on police and officials.

Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov, who is a former Chechen rebel, has pledged to end a recent rise in violence in the republic. In an earlier interview, Kadyrov said he spent weekends fighting militants.

As president, Kadyrov has been credited for bringing relative peace to Chechnya, which saw two Kremlin-led campaigns against separatists in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Grozny, ravaged by the years of conflict, has been restored.