Russian forces have killed 20 rebels in two days during an ongoing "counter-terrorism operation" in the Caucasus region of Ingushetia near the border with Chechnya, the FSB security service said Friday.
The operation, involving forces from the interior ministry in the mountainous Sunzhensky district, began Thursday to root out up to 30 militants fighting for Chechen rebel Dokka Umarov, the FSB said in a statement.
"As a result of ongoing clashes, 20 rebels have been killed," it said. "There were no losses among federal forces.
"The operation is continuing to search out the remaining rebels and identify the bodies."
Russia is struggling to quash an Islamist insurgency in its mostly Muslim southern regions of Dagestan, Ingushetia and Chechnya, where federal forces fought two bloody wars against separatist rebels in the 1990s.
Umarov, 45, is the self-proclaimed leader of the "Caucasus Emirate" which has sought to unite various Islamist groups in the North Caucasus and gain independece from Russia.
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