GROZNY. Feb 14 (Interfax-AVN) - Rebels have attacked a joint army and police patrol and wounded an officer of the Leninsky district police department in Grozny, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry department for Chechnya told Interfax-Military News Agency on Thursday.
The extremists hiding in a ruined building fired assault rifles at the patrol, the spokesman said. The patrol fired back making rebels leave the building and escaper. The search for the attackers is underway.
According to the spokesman, eight explosive devices were found and defused in the Leninsky and Staropromyslovsky districts of the city on Wednesday. Law-enforcers and servicemen carried out a pinpoint operation and detained two local residents on suspicion on planting mines in the Staropromyslovsky district. One of the detainees is a woman who had arms on her.
A preliminary action has made it clear that the detainees are members of a rebel group who have participated in staging numerous sabotage and terrorist acts against federal forces in Grozny and neighboring localities.
Search operations in the city resulted in confiscation of some 2,000 small-arms cartridges, 10 mortar shells and almost 50 under-barrel grenade launcher rounds.