(RIA Novosti) - Police and army officers, as well as aircraft, launched an operation early Wednesday in Russia's troubled North Caucasus to apprehend a group of suspected militants, the local interior ministry said.
A spokesman said a group had been surrounded in a forested area near the village of Ali-Yurt outside the Republic of Ingushetia's biggest city, Nazran, reports Trend.
"The operation to detain members of an illegal armed group began at 7 a.m. (3 a.m. GMT)," a spokesman said. "Special Forces are combing the area and police have cut off escape routes."
He added that air strikes had been launched on the area, but no casualties had yet been reported.