GROZNY. July 8 (Interfax-AVN) - Units of the unified federal group in the North Caucasus are conducting 13 large-scale operations on searching for guerillas, weapons, and ammunition, Colonel Ilya Shabalkin, official of the regional operational headquarters on Chechnya campaign, told Interfax-Military News Agency on Monday.
The operations are being held chiefly in the southern foothills and in the Naurskaya and Shelkovskaya districts in northern Chechnya. 10 guerillas have been killed on Sunday when putting up armed resistance, and another 37 suspected rebels have been detained.
Federal forces also prevented three major terrorist attacks. In the course of arms search operations federals found caches with over 30 pieces of small-arms, 74 artillery shells, 21 mines, 11 portable grenade launchers, over 100 grenades and 3.5kg of explosives as well as 14,000 small-arms cartridges.
According to Shabalkin, the main attention is being paid to the blocking of rebel financing channels. Federal forces are searching and destroying illegal oil refineries. 108 of those refineries were eliminated on Sunday, Shabalkin added.