KHANKALA. Nov 6 (Interfax-AVN) - The situation in Chechnya remains quite tense, and therefore "special forces are taking active measures in regions with an especially complex criminal situation, namely in the eastern foothills part of the republic and in southern areas, where guerillas are most likely to concentrate and move," the headquarters of the Russian Combined Federal Forces in the North Caucasus said on Wednesday.
Two guerillas have been killed near the community of Buniaul when they offered resistance to federal servicemen, a spokesman for the headquarters told Interfax-Military News Agency.
"Several caches with weapons, ammunition, and food have been found in the village of Makazhoi. The explosives were largely destroyed right in the dugouts," the spokesman said.
He stressed that search operations were underway near the Simeir, Baitarki, Benoilam villages where over 20 suspected rebels were detained on Wednesday.
An official of the on-duty unit of the Chechen interior department told Interfax-AVN that a cache had been found in the Leninsky district of Grozny. The cache contained four AKM assault rifles, a PM pistol, nine rounds for the PG-25 grenade launcher, and two F-1 grenades. Law-enforcers established that the cache belonged to so-called Grozny emir Murad Yusupkhadzhiyev, who was eliminated by federal forces in the course of a special operation on November 1.
A cache with a 7.62mm AKM assault rifle, five RGN grenades, an RPG-7V antitank grenade launcher, five antipersonnel mines, three 400g TNT charges, numerous 5.45mm and 7.62mm cartridges was found at an oil base in the Suvorov-Yurt village in the Gudermes district of the troubled republic.
Measures are being taken to detect and detain persons involved in setting up the caches.
Chechen police forces have seized a total of eight assault rifles, two grenade launchers, two hunting rifles, over 1,600 cartridges, 16 grenades, 20 under-barrel grenade launcher rounds, two artillery shells, 14 mortar shells, two makeshift explosive devices, a fuse and 1.2kg of TNT over the past 24 hours, the official said.