Fourteen militants were killed on Friday during a clash with law enforcers in the volatile south Russian republic of Ingushetia, an investigator said.

Earlier reports said that between 10 and 17 militants had been killed in a special operation in a forested mountainous area in Ingushetia's Sunzhen region, a province west of Chechnya.

"A preliminary search of the area resulted in the discovery of 14 dead militants, as well as of 10 assault rifles, four machine guns, a pistol, a portable radio transmitter and ammunition," he said.

The Federal Security Service (FSB) said earlier that the militants were part of the network controlled by North Caucasus warlord Doku Umarov.

Ingushetia and the neighboring North Caucasus regions of Chechnya and Dagestan have been plagued by violence linked to separatist militants and criminal groups.

ROSTOV-ON-DON, February 12 (RIA Novosti)