Search for militants continues in Ingushetia

In Ingushetia - a North Caucasian autonomy of Russia with its capital in Magas on the western border of Chechnya - special measures are continued to look for the militants who attacked late on Monday night the building of the republic's Interior Ministry and the 137th border guard unit in Nazran, the township of Karabulak and the village of Sleptsovskaya.

The Interior Ministry is taking additional measures on the territory of the South Federal District to protect bodies of authority, transport facilities, the administrative borders of the republic and other strategic targets. Interior Ministry staff are making checks of motor transport on the roads, inspecting practically all vehicles.

Field operatives are looking for persons involved in the attack on the administrative building in Magas.

The central headquarters of the Interior Ministry of Russia has set up a crisis management centre following the sally by terrorists in Ingushetia. The centre is headed by Colonel-General Alexander Chekalin, Deputy Interior Minister of Russia, a spokesman of the Interior Ministry of Russia said.

Late at night on June 21, several groups of militants totaling up to 200 men infiltrated into the territory of Ingushetia.

The bandits stole arms and ammunition from one of the dumps of the Interior Ministry of Ingushetia.

According to the latest information, the attack by bandits left 56 people killed, and over 60 people wounded. A spokesman for the press-service of the main directorate of the Interior Ministry of Russia for the South Federal District reported that among those killed are 18 senior executives and officials of the Interior Ministry of Ingushetia, including acting Deputy Minister of the Interior Abukar Kostoyev.

Meanwhile, a source in the headquarters of the joint grouping of troops in the North Caucasus, reported that at 11:00 p.m. on the day before outside the village of Avtury in the Shali district of Chechnya, police engaged in a battle with a group of militants numbering up to 20 men.

"The group of militants numbering up to 20 attacked staff members of the Interior Ministry of Khakassia seconded to guard checkpoint 116. Members of the police and security service of the president of the Chechen republic arrived to help the police," said the spokesman of the joint grouping of troops.

The personnel of the security service of the president of Chechnya, who came to the assistance of the police, discovered one more bandit group numbering up to 30 men, following which they engaged the bandits.

"According to the information for this hour, no casualties are reported among personnel of the units of federal troops. At present additional forces have been sent to the assistance of the police. They consist of OMON members (80 men) and 100 members of the regiment of the patrol service of the Interior Ministry of Chechnya," the source said.

He also added that helicopters of the Defence Ministry of Russia were used to destroy the bandits.

As dawn broke, the special operation to liquidate the discovered bandits continued, it was noted at the headquarters of the joint grouping of forces.