Six soldiers from Russia’s National Guard were killed and three were injured during an overnight raid on Stanitsa Naurskaya, a military town in the north of Chechnya, reports the Interfax news site. This is the third attack since the beginning of the year.
The incident occurred around 2:30 a.m. when a group of insurgents attempted to enter Stanitsa Naurskaya, according to the National Guard’s press release. Russian forces effectively countered the offensive, but six Russian soldiers died during the battle.
Six insurgents were also killed and two of them are discovered to have been wearing explosive belts.
The area is currently blocked and a task force was deployed to investigate the incident. Although the counter-terror regime has been lifted in Chechnya since 2009, the insurgency is still ongoing in remote areas in the republic.
“Thanks to the decisive actions of our military personnel, the criminal group's attempt to enter the town has failed,” says the National Guard’s press release.
Russia’s National Guard is actively involved in counter-terrorism operations in the North Caucasus. The service was created in early 2016 and modelled on the Internal Troops and special forces of the Interior Ministry. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack so far.
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