KHANKALA. Nov 11 (Interfax-AVN) - Six rebels have been killed and 12 were wounded during a clash between Russian special forces and a rebel group, which occurred near the village of Kharsenoi on Monday morning, Colonel Boris Podoprigora, deputy commander of the Combined Federal Forces in the North Caucasus, said.
"A group of army special forces found and clashed with a group of up to 30 rebels. This group is believed to be part of a group led by Doku Umarov," Podoprigora told reporters.
A source in the Combined Federal Forces told Interfax earlier that the rebel group was ambushed by Defense Ministry special forces east of the village of Kharsenoi on Monday. "The rebels have been fully encircled and are being destroyed," the source told Interfax.
Colonel Nikolai Deryabin, the head of the Russian Defense Ministry press service, has confirmed that the rebel group has been encircled near the village of Kharsenoi.
"The federal forces are targeting rebel groups in a mountainous forest area outside of settlements," he said.