Two servicemen were killed and five wounded when an armoured vehicle blew up in Chechnya

Two servicemen of the United Group of Forces (OGV) were killed and five wounded when an armoured vehicle blew up in the Kurchaloi district of Chechnya on the pressure activated landmine placed by militants.

A spokesman for the OGV staff told RIA Novosti on Thursday that the incident took place on January 23 in the outskirts of the Kurchaloi district centre when the armoured vehicle moved along the country road. The wounded servicemen have been hospitalised.

Over the last 24 hours another two servicemen were wounded in Chechnya as a result of the militants' shoot-out in the Shelkovskoi and Nozhai-Yurt districts. Retaliatory fire was opened in both cases.

Two home-made explosive devices and 28 underground mini oil refineries have been destroyed by OGV servicemen over the last 24 hours in Chechnya.

Operational measures have been taken in Chechen towns and settlements as a result of which the OGV servicemen withdrew three grenade launchers, 10 machine-guns, two pistols, five sports guns, 20 mines and shells, 85 grenades, more than 7,000 cartridges of various calibre and about 2 kg of trotyl.