12 militants slain in Ingushetia crackdown

MOSCOW, Dec. 28 (UPI) -- Twelve militants and foreign mercenaries were killed during a security sweep in the Russian Caucasus republic of Ingushetia, authorities said Sunday.

The operation, carried out between Dec. 23-25, was centered near Verkhny Alkun in the Sunzha District of Ingushetia, which borders the troubled republic of Chechnya, officials of the Russian Federal Security Service told RIA Novosti.

Security officials said all the militants were killed despite fierce armed resistance. The group included 12 gunmen led by warlord Vakhi Dzhenaraliyev, who had been wanted for attacks on police and Russian interior ministry troops and was among those slain, the news agency said.

Russian security forces, who suffered no casualties during the security operation, also seized a large arsenal of arms and ammunition, the Federal Security Service said.