GROZNY. Nov 5 (Interfax-AVN) - A federal unit engaged a rebel gang in the Shali district of Chechnya, a source in the regional headquarters managing the anti-guerilla operation in the North Caucasus told Interfax-Military News Agency on Wednesday.
"A federal special-purpose unit on a surveillance mission found a rebel gang comprising 10 to 12 people in a forest near the Avtury village in the Shali district yesterday. Rebels lost two men killed in the resulting engagement," he said.
According to the source, guerillas retreated making use of the dark. They took the corpses with them and dug them in the forest urgently. Following that, they started a retreat towards the mountainous section of the district.
"Policemen tapped the main roads and pathways in the area, because it is not ruled out that bandits who have been assigned a mission by their ringleaders will again try to penetrate the valleys in order to commit subversive and terrorist acts," the source said.
A grenade launcher, two assault rifles, 31 grenade launcher rounds, about 300 7.62-mm and 5.45-mm cartridges, and a home-made explosive device consisting of a Kenwood radio, an electric detonator and a projectile, were seized on the battlefield.