Around 20 militants have been killed in a clash with troops in the volatile south Russian republic of Ingushetia, the Federal Security Service (FSB) said on Friday.
It said the militants had been part of the network controlled by North Caucasus warlord Doku Umarov.
The fighting erupted in a forested mountainous area in Ingushetia's Sunzhen region, a province west of Chechnya, on Thursday, between FSB and Interior Ministry forces and a 20-30-strong militant group.
The FSB said the special operation was ongoing.
Ingushetia and the neighboring North Caucasus regions of Chechnya and Dagestan have been plagued by violence linked to separatist militants and criminal groups.
MOSCOW, February 12 (RIA Novosti)
