NAZRAN — An Interior Ministry official says two suspected militants have been killed in a clash in the republic of Ingushetia.
Madina Khadziyeva of the ministry's branch in the volatile North Caucasus province west of Chechnya, says the suspects were shot dead Wednesday in the town of Karabulak. Khadziyeva said the two suspects refused to surrender and were killed in an ensuing skirmish.
Chechnya and neighboring North Caucasus provinces have remained mired in violence stemming from wars between separatist Chechen rebels and the government. Islamic militants mount regular attacks on authorities.
Rights activists said police and security forces fueled violence by arbitrary killings, abductions, torture and other abuses.
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